Letter: NC must demand more from health insurers

I recently tuned into a discussion about North Carolina health insurers hosted by Meredith College and the North Carolina Center for Health and Democracy.

Dr. David McLennan and Wendell Potter talked at length about the challenges facing North Carolina patients when it comes to denied in-network care, complicated appeals and pushing doctors out-of-network.

While I may not agree with Mr. Potter's view on things like universal health care, I do agree with him that there needs to be bipartisan support to take a closer look at what health insurance companies are up to, especially when more than 2.9 million claims are denied by a single insurer in North Carolina and insurer profits are climbing.

If denying needed care is now a successful business strategy in North Carolina, we're in trouble. The public needs to pay attention and demand more from health insurance companies.

When costs and denials go up, and patient outcomes go down, that's a concern to all of us.

Bill Brown

Greenville