Doctor Claims UnitedHealthcare Called Mid Surgery To Ask If Inpatient Stay Was Justified For Patient —’Do You Understand She’s Asleep Right Now?’
In the middle of a surgery, a Texas plastic surgeon got a call she never expected—not from a family member, not from a referring physician, but from the patient’s insurance provider. The question: was the overnight hospital stay truly justified? That moment has lit a fuse in healthcare circles, exposing the tension between care and cost.
Dr. Elisabeth Potter, a board-certified reconstructive surgeon in Austin specializing in breast cancer care, says the call came while a patient lay under anesthesia. In a now-viral TikTok from January, she opened with: “It’s 2025 and insurance just keeps getting worse.”
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According to Potter, during one of her DIEP flap surgeries, a nurse interrupted and showed her a note: UnitedHealthcare had allegedly called to demand the patient’s diagnosis and to justify whether her inpatient stay was warranted. Potter says she scrubbed out, dialed back, and was met with confusion:
“I said, ‘Do you understand she’s asleep right now and she has breast cancer?'” Potter recalled. “And the gentleman replied, ‘Actually I don’t—that’s a different department that would know that information.'”
Potter told Fox News Digital she feared that the call was a precursor to a denied claim—and perhaps a $80,000–$100,000 bill falling on her patient.
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In early February, “Allure” reported that UnitedHealthcare in a statement called Potter’s claims false, saying the surgery and overnight stay had already been approved and that it would never expect a surgeon to step out mid-procedure.
That split in narratives is exactly what’s fueling debate in health and finance circles: how much operational control insurers should have over clinical decisions—and what happens when that control crosses into the surgical suite.
Beyond one dramatic episode, this controversy exposes structural risks in America’s healthcare system. Prior authorization and coverage review policies already cost providers time and money. In Potter’s case, things escalated from administrative hoops to a real-time clash. Colleagues have backed her, saying hundreds of providers face similar pressure without the spotlight.
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And this isn’t just about one operation. After her video went viral, Potter alleges that UnitedHealthcare refused to allow her new surgery center to be part of its in-network network—something she sees as retaliation for speaking out. She also received a demand letter from a law firm asking her to retract statements or face legal consequences.
From a financial perspective, her story spotlights the friction when insurance companies act like gatekeepers of care. Their cost control strategies can tip into real-time intervention—and in doing so, risk accountability when things go wrong. Institutional and investor scrutiny over insurer practices is rising, especially as health costs climb and public trust wanes.
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