STAT News reporter looking to connect with UnitedHealth HouseCalls or Optum clinic patients

Hi all, my name is Lizzy Lawrence and I’m a reporter with STAT News, a health care publication that is a part of the Boston Globe. This post was approved by the moderators.

I am working on a story about a peripheral artery disease test called QuantaFlo, a little lime green clip that attaches to fingers and toes. My colleagues and I wrote a story recently about UnitedHealth Group’s use of the test on Medicare Advantage patients in clinics owned by its Optum subsidiary, as well as house call visits. Experts told us the test was unreliable; still, the company used it to make more PAD diagnoses, which boosted payments from the government.

I’m trying to figure out whether UnitedHealth is still using the test in its clinics and during home wellness visits, and also hear more about patient experiences with the QuantaFlo test. If you are a UnitedHealth Care Medicare Advantage patient who’s received the test, or who’s recently had a home visit from the company, I would love to hear from you. If you’re a medical provider and have experience working for Optum, would also love to hear from you. It’s completely up to you if you’d like your name used or not. You can message me here on Reddit, comment down below, or email me at lizzy.lawrence@statnews.com

And feel free to reach out if you have more general personal experiences with UnitedHealth and Optum that you’d like to share. We have a whole series on the company and its dominance in health care: https://www.statnews.com/2024/07/25/united-health-group-medicare-advantage-strategy-doctor-clinic-acquisitions/

Thank you so much in advance! Here’s a link to our previous story on QuantaFlo: https://www.statnews.com/2024/08/07/unitedhealth-peripheral-artery-disease-screening-program-medicare-advantage-gold-mine/

And here’s my STAT bio: https://www.statnews.com/staff/lizzy-lawrence/