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October 27, 2025 
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Hi everyone —
This is a thank-you note.
We can’t do our work without a lot of help, and when I asked all of you to help me help the medical community better explain how insurance companies operate, you really delivered.
As you may recall, I wrote a column last month about how my wife and I were caught unaware when UnitedHealthcare said it wasn’t going to pay for part of her breast cancer surgery. The primary problem was that UnitedHealthcare didn’t use all available communication methods to inform us — in fact, it only used one. We didn’t find out until 36 hours before her surgery.
But I also wanted to draft a memo that medical practitioners could use to warn patients about possible problems with this so-called “prior authorization” process. I asked experts for advice, but when we published the memo, I got lots of pointed feedback.
So I turned to you, the Your Money newsletter subscribers, for additional assistance, and the help was invaluable. Here’s how this last version turned out.
None of us are as smart as all of us, and New York Times readers are about as smart as they come. I’m lucky to have you — all of us here are.
With gratitude,
Ron
Please note: In last week’s newsletter, we spelled Beth Pinsker’s name incorrectly. She is the author of “My Mother’s Money: A Guide to Financial Caregiving,” which comes out on Nov. 4.
Does your electric bill keep going up? We want to see it.
Utility rates are rising in many places across the country. We want to see your recent utility bills and hear how they are affecting you. That will give us a better perspective on the rising rates, as opposed to just how companies and governments see the big picture.
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