Something seriously broken with health insurance, namely HealthPartners.

I’ve officially reached the point where I don’t know whether to laugh or be angry.

I have documented fractures in my lower back. My doctor ordered updated imaging because my symptoms have continued, and he believes it’s medically necessary. But apparently my insurance company, HealthPartners, knows my spine better than my physician does because they denied the imaging.

How does this make any sense? I’m not asking for elective surgery or experimental treatment. I’m asking for the imaging my doctor ordered to evaluate an existing spinal condition that’s causing ongoing pain.

When did insurance companies become the ones practicing medicine? They never examined me and yet somehow they get to decide what I “need.”

Meanwhile, if something has worsened, I’m expected to just wait until it gets bad enough to justify their approval?

Has anyone else dealt with this? Were you able to get the denial overturned through an appeal or peer-to-peer review? It’s incredibly frustrating to feel like a corporation is making medical decisions instead of the physician who’s actually treating you.