Boyfriend insurance denied hospital stay

Hi all! My boyfriend was recently hospitalized with appendicitis (we live in California). He had surgery at 4pm and was discharged the following day around 2pm. His insurance (United, surprise surprise), already denied the overnight hospital stay saying it wasn’t medically necessary. I am wondering what information he needs to provide in his appeal and what he should ask for from insurance (I.e. I’ve heard to ask for the medical license number and specialization of the doctor who reviewed the case) and from the hospital. I don’t know what argument there is for inpatient vs outpatient stays, but I do know that his blood pressure was lower than normal following the surgery and that was a concern for the medical team. He was also being given intravenous pain meds as late as the following morning.

Assuming insurance still denies, what is the next step? It’s absurd to assume he would pay for an overnight stay when the doctor is the one that stated that he needed to be there overnight. This should be something sorted out between the insurance and hospital and it’s a joke that our system forces sick people to fight for the care they need.

submitted by /u/leggomyeggo87
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