19-year-old tasked with denying insurance claims approves 50 cases and calls it quits

How does your job make you feel? Calm and secure? Or stressed and anxious? If you are leaning towards the latter, you are probably burnt out. You fall into a cycle of perpetual exhaustion, annoyance, reduced accomplishment and everything in you wants to quit your job. But is that the best choice? Sometimes, the answers are most likely a no because you are in dire need of money. No matter how tedious or monotonous your job is or how emotionally draining it is, you suck it up and keep on until you find better job prospects. However, burnout is not just about being tired. It is a multifaceted problem that requires a multifaceted solution. Recently, a Reddit user (u/jthememeking) shared a story of how they got fed up with their health insurance job, and before quitting, they approved every insurance claim they got. 

The Reddit user was 19 at the time, working at a health insurance company, with their job requiring them to deny most insurance claims. "This job was the easiest, yet most miserable job experience I ever had. I was only able to last a few months there. During my last 2 weeks, I was really slacking off. I was just so burned out. I couldn't stand denying yet ANOTHER case where someone needed meds and the insurance company didn't want to pay for them. I was reprimanded for not working hard enough and getting processed," they wrote.

"I worked faster than I ever had before. That's because I approved every case that came before. Every doctor I spoke to, I just gave them approval. Every prior authorization I saw was approved," they added. "During my first week, I did this once and was told to not do it again because I have to follow company guidelines, but I didn't care at this point. I probably was able to approve 50+ cases before I quit. I hope it made it difference to those people."

Bored Panda spoke to jthememeking and asked them some questions about the company. They said that they were in a top-level position that required clearance, and due to the nature of the job, the turnover rate was high. “From my training class, I was one of the last ones to leave. During my time there, more would come and go,“ they said. Generally, insurance companies are required to have a doctor who would review these cases, but the Reddit user and other employees were the ones handling the reviewing. Doctors would sign whatever they had decided without reviewing the decision. When doctors demanded to know who was making those changes, the employees would refer to a supervisor, who is not a medical professional but has the power to consult with the doctor. “But it’s very difficult to talk to a doctor if you were calling us,” they added. 

“I feel like you have to be a certain kind of person to work there long-term. The people who work there for longer than a few years seem so detached from the actions they’re doing,” the Reddit user said when asked if there were people who would stay on the job for long periods. Despite the poor management and work ethic, the company would usually be helping and guiding doctors with questions involving prior authorizations (PA). “The best times there were when there was a simple solution,” OP said. These would be the times when a procedure or medicine wasn’t on the PA. “I was glad to help when I could," they added.

The post went viral on Reddit, which amassed over 14K upvotes and 762 comments from fellow employees/users who shared their grievances. "I worked in a pharmacy for over a year, and the pharmacist I worked with was one of the best in the county (possibly the state). One day she was talking to a customer and I overheard her say, 'I've been working here for 14 years and I still don't understand insurance,'" wrote u/MorganRose99.

"US health insurance is a racket through and through. We need to move to single-payer, so everybody (healthy, seriously ill, and everyone in between) can stop wasting money," added u/ultra_tlc. "I feel like it’s a vicious cycle between the hospitals and insurance companies negotiating lower and lower payments. The hospitals aren’t innocent for trying to make up for it in other ways - they are still for-profit with boards and shareholders. It’s insane," added u/PerceptiveArtist.