A plastic surgeon who specializes in breast reconstruction for cancer survivors is now facing bankruptcy and says it's after she publicly criticized one of America's largest health insurance companies.

Dr Elisabeth Potter, 49, claimed she was called out of surgery by a UnitedHealth representative in January and asked justify care given to a pre-approved inpatient who was asleep undergoing surgery.

Later that day, she posted a video on Instagram calling out UnitedHealth claiming "insurance is out of control" and "I have no other words"."

The post went viral and Dr. Potter, from Austin, Texas, claims she received a threatening legal letter from UnitedHealthcare, demanding she apologize and delete the video.

Dr. Potter refused to comply, publicly sharing their letter, which drew further media coverage and public support.

And now, five months on from the surgery, she is facing financial ruin and says she has been forced to launch a GoFundMe to keep her surgery going.

She claims the insurer now refuses provide in-network coverage to her RedBud Surgery Centre - which she believes this was intended to punish her for speaking out.

This means she is no longer on a list of surgery's approved by the insurer, reducing the amount of work she can do by forcing people who have a plan with UnitedHealthcare to pay more - or go elsewhere.

The decision impacts Dr. Potter financially, as she invested personal money and the out-of-network status limits patient coverage.

UnitedHealth deny targeting the centre.

"In the midst of this I'm trying to figure out a way to not go bankrupt or not be insolvent while still providing care to patients," she said. "I'm not giving up."

"I'm hustling really hard and I'm trying to find other ways to keep the practice healthy."

"It was a big commitment to invest and to take out loans that I personally guaranteed to build this center, but I needed to show that it was possible to do this, and I needed to be able to take care of these ladies and make a living."

Dr. Potter opened her own facility after years of witnessing declining reimbursements and growing barriers to care, she said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she saw hospitals classify breast reconstruction as "elective"."

"I wanted to ensure patients got the surgeries they needed without the bureaucracy of medicine preventing women from getting breast reconstruction," she said."

Potter, who set up RedBud in December 2023, said that receiving an in-network is vital to surgery survival.

In her initial post in January, which has amassed millions of views, Potter, dressed in a blue scrub cap, said: 'It's 2025 and insurance just keeps getting worse.

"[...]"

I scrubbed out of my case and I called UnitedHealthcare and the gentleman said he needed some information about her, wanna know her diagnosis and whether her inpatient stay should be justified."

"It was just so absurd that an insurance company could reach me while I was in the operating room as a surgeon," Dr. Potter added on reflection."

"We've crossed over into another level of the corporate practice of medicine."

Since speaking out, Dr. Potter claims that UnitedHealthcare has not contracted with her new surgery center to be in-network, creating financial obstacles for her practice and limiting patient access.

"It's financially devastating," Dr. Potter said."

She added "it's hard to believe that it's not" retaliation."

The surgeon says too much power is in the hands of insurance giants.

"United is the single largest employer of doctors in the United States. They own hospitals, pharmacies, and medical practices," Dr. Potter said."

"When someone owns that many pieces of a system, that system is not working for the public."

Asked for her message to other healthcare providers feeling trapped, she said: "You aren't powerless."

"If we keep behaving in the same way, if we keep letting somebody behave in that way over and over, they don't change."

In response, UnitedHealthcare said: "We informed Dr. Potter on 10/1 that our ASC network was closed, well before any of the videos in question."

"While her consultant continued to contact us, there were no ongoing negotiations."

They added: "Dr. Potter remains in-network for our members."

While Dr. Potter remains in-network, her facility does not, as she states.

She says this means patients may have coverage for her services in-network elsewhere, but surgeries at her RedBud Surgery Centre are out-of-network, making them less accessible.

She added: "They can choose to allow me [surgery center] in network. They have chosen not to. That certainly feels like retaliation to me."

www.gofundme.com/f/stand-with-a-surgeon-facing-retaliation