Woman arrested after telling her health insurer 'you people are next'

[LizBeth]

A 42-year-old woman from Florida has been arrested and charged after police say she threatened her health insurance provider over a recently denied medical claim, repeating a common phrase from critics of the health-care industry that had been inscribed on ammunition casings found next to slain UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson.

According to an affidavit obtained by The Washington Post, Briana Boston of Lakeland contacted Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield on Tuesday after the company denied her medical insurance claim. Toward the end of the recorded phone call with her health insurer, Boston told an agent: “Delay, deny, depose. You people are next.”

The words, “delay, deny, depose,” reference tactics insurance companies have used to decline or limit medical claims. They were engraved on bullet casings found outside a midtown Manhattan hotel where 26-year-old Luigi Mangione is suspected of gunning down Thompson earlier this month.

Boston’s Tuesday arrest comes as consumer frustration with insurance companies and the broader U.S. health-care system balloon. More than half of Americans say the quality of U.S. health care is fair or poor, while only 28 percent say health care coverage in the U.S. is excellent or good, according to a December survey conducted by Gallup. In 2023, nearly a third of Americans gave health insurance companies a poor rating, according to Gallup.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/12/13/briana-boston-blue-cross-insurance-threat/

Such an abuse of power and screwing little person once again. Judge set bond for $100,000 and up to 15 yrs.

[Irish_Dem]

1. Insurance companies threaten people every day.

Can we get them arrested?

[SWBTATTReg]

2. Getting arrested for expressing an opinion. There doesn't seem to be a concrete action on her part, other than

simply expressing her frustration opinion-wise. Are they going to arrest everybody that states this. The only part I'm wondering about is her 'you people are next' statement, maybe too strong?

[LizBeth]

3. You people is certainly pretty generic.

[Igel]

4. In 26 years of marriage and 21 years of fatherhood,

I've never known a claim by me or my now-ex wife or kid to be rejected in a way that mattered. A time or two a doctor had to provide additional information but the treatment/etc. was covered. And when overlapping prescriptions occurred the older one wasn't filled (sometimes yes, sometimes no--I take liothyronine and managed to accidentally accrue an extra 3-months' supply).

Sometimes it was on short notice. I go to a doctor, said doc vanishes for 15 minutes and comes back to ask a few questions then tell me that I will be leaving her office, crossing the street, and checking into the hospital for a week or more.

Now, I also self limit. As did my kid and ex-wife. "You have seborrhea, I'd like to prescribe X and Y and have you see a dermatologist." "Really? I have seborrhea? It hasn't been a problem, in fact I haven't noticed anything." "So you are saying no to treatment." "Well, yeah." Doc wants me on medication for pre-diabetes, except that she's pushed that for the last 3-4 years and I'm still not actually pre-diabetic, even though they've lowered the guidelines. Others I know are relieved to be spared the horrors of ... whatever.

One doctor had no problem getting me CAT-scanned and under radiation therapy for an off-the-books treatment for tissue growth in the eye sockets as a result of Graves disease. (Usually they, at the time at least, would yank out the eyeballs and scoop out the excess tissue, then re-anchor said eyeballs; instead I got to experience a gamma knife first hand, like a cancer patient; it worked and I had a small out-of-pocket co-pay.)

Then again, I had pretty good insurance coverage. My current coverage has a gaping donut hole. I lapse into it and lots of things aren't covered. Probably next year I'll reduce the donut hole, pay a lot more for better coverage, and have a small raft of things that would push me deep into that unmitigated hole dealt with.

[Meowmee]

7. I had a huge bill for a hospital stay denied by my insurance

At the time I told the hospital I was going to sue them because they were negligent and caused what happened along with my doctors….they absorbed the cost. They appealed it, but the insurance denied the appeal. They told me they were going to absorb it if it was denied because they knew I had a potential lawsuit against them.

The insurance was paid a huge amount of premiums. It was good insurance yet they got away with it. It was a valid claim.

Looking back I wish I had sued the hospital and my doctors anyway… I was recovering from life-threatening events that happened and I was worried they might try to bill me for it if I sued them because it could’ve bankrupted me. There were some other reasons too.

I’m always worried now if I have to go to a hospital for something that it could be denied. I have health conditions that can cause me to end up in the emergency room/hospital at any time. But I have learned how to take care of them at home when it happens. The er / hospital is the last place I want to anyway.

There have been a lot of denial of medications, raising copays etc. which my doctors fight, raising co-pays to astronomical prices, but I got the co-pay covered by the pharmaceutical company copay assistance plans, and various other things like that. Weird thing is with one medication I was on for a long time, they finally came out with a generic. And the co-pay was lowered a lot, then all of a sudden they said they don’t have the generic anymore and I have to buy the name brand! I got them to lower the co-pay on it somehow because they wouldn’t let me get the generic, but I don’t think they did that the last time so I have to call them again.There’s a lot of crooked dealing that goes on with these companies. Another one was raising a co-pay from $25-$757!

I have to spend a lot of time on the phone dealing with all of this and other issues. It’s very stressful.

[LizBeth]

8. Preventative skin check three yrs same insurance paid, fourth year refused.

I fought it two yrs until I thought they were going to collection then paid. NO reason for me to pay. Total bullshit. I rarely use my insurance, NEVER for illness just preventative. Last year United Healthcare. 15 minutes consult to get two refills. 450. Charged me full price. The insurance was thru the company I worked for. I should have paid a third of the bill. Too much work to challenge them with the insurance company I WORK for. Paid full amount. Bullshit! And I will reiterate, I rarely use the insurance.

So, bully for you.

[chouchou]

5. A person named Donald Trump said "I could shoot someone in Times Square..ETC..

I don't see any large difference between the Donny and that woman.
Is it smart to speak like that? No..hell but, I'd warn her or talk to her about making threats against others.

[NutmegYankee]

6. That isn't even a valid immediate threat

This isn't going to survive a competent defense lawyer.

[Meowmee]

9. I don't think she should've been arrested

Just warn her not to threaten people even though it was not a credible threat imo etc. I think the charges will be dropped.

[LizBeth]

10. It is the point of them even arresting her. That they even took time out of her day and the effort

she has to make now. That is atrocious and wrong. She cannot make 100k in bail and this is wrong in all ways.

[Meowmee]

11. Yes it's awful and an abuse imo

[mountain grammy]

12. I heard John Fuglesang say something about this on Stephanie Miller this AM

And although I consider him a reliable source I googled it. Just didn’t sound believable. Still doesn’t, but here we are.