Dr. Elisabeth Potter went viral in January with a video detailing her frustrations over an experience with United Healthcare. Since posting the video, she says she has not been able to secure contracts with major health insurers and is now in danger of losing her surgery center.

Austin

Dr. Elizabeth Potter, who operates a surgical center specializing in reconstructive surgery for breast cancer patients in Austin, Texas, reports that her business is in jeopardy after she spoke out publicly about frustrations with insurance companies. Potter claims that after her viral video criticizing UnitedHealthcare, her facility was not accepted into the insurer's network, despite her previous in-network status as a physician and significant financial investment in the center.

UnitedHealthcare states that its decision not to accept new surgery centers, including Potter's, was made prior to her public statements and denies penalizing her for speaking out. Industry experts note that initial rejections from insurers are common and often part of negotiation processes. Potter has since turned to social media for support, raising over $700,000 in donations, but says her center faces ongoing financial challenges as she continues to seek contracts with other insurers.

This doctor says she could lose her business after speaking out

This is the surgical center that Dr. Elizabeth Potter started a year and a half ago in Austin, Texas, where she does reconstructive surgery for women with breast cancer. The fact that we have this is so powerful. I have these skills, and when I have an operating room, like, I can really offer them to people. Can we see a 390? Because if I have the skills and I have the place, why can't I? What's in the way? And lately, it's insurance. In January, Dr. Potter went viral with a video detailing her frustration over an experience with UnitedHealthcare. It's 2025, and insurance just keeps getting worse. Now she says she's being punished for speaking out, and it's pushing her practice to the brink. I'm scared. I spoke out against health insurance, and the insurance company decided that my facility can't be a network. And I built an entire business plan and invested almost $5 million in being able to be a network with insurance. I feel like crying sometimes. Potter herself has long been in network with the major insurance companies as a physician and believed it would be easy to get her center in network, too. I am going to pop in and see room three. I heard insurance companies saying, hey, we want to move these really expensive cases out of the hospital and into ambulatory surgery centers. It saved the health care system money. I assumed that they would let me do this. Hi, how are you? But nearly eight months after her video got millions of views, she says several big insurers have not yet contracted with her, including UnitedHealthcare. After I posted that, they just went radio silent. When you found out that they were not going to let you into the network, what impression did that leave you with? It makes me feel like the only way to succeed or the only way to have safety as a doctor is to play nice. Is there a culture of not speaking out about insurance? Oh, gosh, yes. There's a huge problem where you're not allowed to say negative things about insurance companies or you'll get penalized. A spokesperson for United says the company told Dr. Potter in October of 2024, quote, well before she posted any videos, that it was not accepting new surgery centers like hers into its network. OK, we'll be in contact soon. Thank you. But industry experts we spoke with said that isn't usually the end of the conversation. So when you enter these negotiations with an insurance company, is it fairly common to hear, no, this network is closed? Absolutely. The insurance company will say no often. That's just the start of the negotiation. As the CEO of Payer Health, Armando Cardoza's job is helping doctors like Potter negotiate these contracts. Though he declined to speak to the specifics of her case, his company has been handling her conversations with insurers, including United. How much of an impact does it have, you know, if someone is able to get in or out of a network? It's a huge impact. It's a big chunk of your business that you're not going to be able to access. United told CNN that after its initial decision, there were no ongoing negotiations with Dr. Potter and said, we aren't penalizing her for anything. The insurance company added it has 33 in-network ambulatory surgical centers in her county, noting, clearly, in the Austin area, there are sufficient options for our members. In July, Dr. Potter began to face the financial reality of what it would mean for her facility to not be allowed in-network. This is all happening because of a doctor speaking up. That week was really hard. We were running out of money really bad. You know, we'd emptied our savings. My husband cashed in his 401k so we could make payroll. She took to social media. I am checking in today, asking for help. Her fans rallied around her, raising over $700,000. People are sending me $20 bills. Just people who've seen your story. From Oregon, just say, I believe in you. Like, no, it's crazy. The other night I woke up and I had an email from... I'm going to cry. The other night I had an email from a dad whose son has cancer. And he said, thank you for doing what you're doing. And I want you to know that I have to explain to my son why the grown-ups have decided that the medicine that was working so well for him, we're not going to do that one anymore. And I lie to my son and I tell him, this new medicine is better. And I know that the old medicine was better. But his insurance company has decided he can't have it anymore. So keep fighting, please. She's still pursuing conversations with other major insurers. Donations have helped buy her a few extra months, but she says it costs $100,000 a month to stay open. I just can't let them win. I'm here for whatever needs to happen, but I'm not going down behind insurance. you

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