UnitedHealthcare members opened letters in September telling them that one of their clinicians had died. The clinicians were alive. The insurer confirmed to Becker's Hospital Review on Oct. 8 that letters sent to members across the country wrongly identified eight clinicians as deceased, and it blamed an internal error.
For patients, a letter like that can prompt real decisions, and in some cases grief for a doctor they had seen for years. Some may have started looking for a new doctor, canceled follow-up visits, or worried about who would manage their prescriptions. The mistake also comes days before Medicare's annual open enrollment period begins on Oct. 15, when people choosing a plan rely on insurer directories to confirm their doctors are in network.
