Get fucked, insurance company. Here’s your reminder that, if you’re a California resident, and your health insurance refuses to cover something, it takes all of 5 minutes to file an independent medical review with the state, and statistically, 73% of the time the state will make your insurer pay.

That’s an insane amount! That is a lot of people getting screwed over, and that’s only the people who reported it who got compensation! And there are people who work for the state who take extreme joy in taking administrative action and fining insurance companies – so far this year, California insurance companies have already been fined $19.7 million, and those are not ‘medical loss’ numbers that count towards the amount of profit they’re allowed to make.

So do those people at the state a solid. You don’t have to be a green Nintendo plumber to make insurers pay; you can make a difference from your desk. If your insurance company causes you trouble, spend the five minutes to file with the DMHC helpline.

This year, my insurance plan just decided not to cover a normal preventative lipid and A1C panel for my annual physical, leaving me with a $200 bill from Palo Alto Medical Foundation. The state decided my insurance should pay it after all, and it’ll go into the file to see if they have a pattern of doing this. Blue Shield, get fucked.