Texas surgeon says UnitedHealthcare dispute may force her into bankruptcy

In January, Dr. Elisabeth Potter said she was midway through performing a breast reconstruction surgery when a call from a representative from UnitedHealthcare came into the operating room.

In January, Dr. Elisabeth Potter said she was midway through performing a breast reconstruction surgery when a call from a representative from UnitedHealthcare came into the operating room. The health insurance company wanted to talk about the patient on the table.

“I got a phone call into the operating room saying that UnitedHealthcare wanted to talk to me and that they wanted to talk to me now,” Potter, a plastic surgeon, told NBC News. Potter posted a video on TikTok recounting the call that’s reached nearly 6 million views.

During the call she said the UnitedHealthcare representative wanted more information on why the patient needed an overnight hospital stay, even though the surgery itself had already been approved.

“The person on the phone asked for her diagnosis, for the patient who was under anesthesia on the table,” she said. “That call was just this wake-up call. If they can ring me in the operating room, not for something urgent, just for that, and to ask me to justify her staying overnight … we have lost our way.”

Potter acknowledged that it was her decision to step out of the surgery to take the call. But “in 2025 with insurance,” she said, “when they say ‘jump,’ I say, ‘how high?’”