David Bianculli

Yeah, I think usually that's the case. And, you know, a lot of the most important developments have come out of academic labs, hospital labs. And, you know, these labs are willing to take chances that often pharmaceutical companies aren't. You know, they will study things that a drug company might look at and say, oh, there's not a big enough market or we're not sure that this will work.

So once they're found in the labs, they often strike deals with pharmaceutical companies that might be a royalty arrangement or something else. But that's not uncommon.

So once they're found in the labs, they often strike deals with pharmaceutical companies that might be a royalty arrangement or something else. But that's not uncommon.

So once they're found in the labs, they often strike deals with pharmaceutical companies that might be a royalty arrangement or something else. But that's not uncommon.

Well, you know, this was a situation where Christopher McNaughton had a very serious case of ulcerative colitis. He had to drop out of college. He was a basketball player in college. He was losing a tremendous amount of weight, so it was a really detrimental effect to his life. And he struggled to find a specialist who could help. give him some relief from this disease.

Well, you know, this was a situation where Christopher McNaughton had a very serious case of ulcerative colitis. He had to drop out of college. He was a basketball player in college. He was losing a tremendous amount of weight, so it was a really detrimental effect to his life. And he struggled to find a specialist who could help. give him some relief from this disease.

Well, you know, this was a situation where Christopher McNaughton had a very serious case of ulcerative colitis. He had to drop out of college. He was a basketball player in college. He was losing a tremendous amount of weight, so it was a really detrimental effect to his life. And he struggled to find a specialist who could help. give him some relief from this disease.

And that's when he got to the Mayo Clinic and found Dr. Edward Loftus, who prescribed a pretty aggressive regimen of drugs that were very expensive. And the interesting thing about Christopher McNaughton's case is he sued UnitedHealth and was able to access records about the company's decisions on his healthcare, including some audio recordings. And

And that's when he got to the Mayo Clinic and found Dr. Edward Loftus, who prescribed a pretty aggressive regimen of drugs that were very expensive. And the interesting thing about Christopher McNaughton's case is he sued UnitedHealth and was able to access records about the company's decisions on his healthcare, including some audio recordings. And

And that's when he got to the Mayo Clinic and found Dr. Edward Loftus, who prescribed a pretty aggressive regimen of drugs that were very expensive. And the interesting thing about Christopher McNaughton's case is he sued UnitedHealth and was able to access records about the company's decisions on his healthcare, including some audio recordings. And

It was apparent from these records that cost was the issue. And what they did was they denied his care, saying it was not medically necessary because the regimen that his doctor prescribed was not an ordinary regimen. Chris had a very extreme case. And his doctor said that cutting him off in this regimen would be life-threatening.

It was apparent from these records that cost was the issue. And what they did was they denied his care, saying it was not medically necessary because the regimen that his doctor prescribed was not an ordinary regimen. Chris had a very extreme case. And his doctor said that cutting him off in this regimen would be life-threatening.

It was apparent from these records that cost was the issue. And what they did was they denied his care, saying it was not medically necessary because the regimen that his doctor prescribed was not an ordinary regimen. Chris had a very extreme case. And his doctor said that cutting him off in this regimen would be life-threatening.

This is a very serious case that had a debilitating effect on a young man.

This is a very serious case that had a debilitating effect on a young man.

This is a very serious case that had a debilitating effect on a young man.

It was not true. And it was reflected in internal documents that he had said this when he had never said that. You know, they did admit later that he never said that. But there was such an effort to control the cost of Chris McNaughton's care that these kinds of things happened. In this case, you know, something that simply wasn't true.

It was not true. And it was reflected in internal documents that he had said this when he had never said that. You know, they did admit later that he never said that. But there was such an effort to control the cost of Chris McNaughton's care that these kinds of things happened. In this case, you know, something that simply wasn't true.

It was not true. And it was reflected in internal documents that he had said this when he had never said that. You know, they did admit later that he never said that. But there was such an effort to control the cost of Chris McNaughton's care that these kinds of things happened. In this case, you know, something that simply wasn't true.

And in other cases, sort of misrepresenting what his care was all about. And, you know, finally, Chris did what... win his case. You know, he won an agreement from the company to continue his care. A lot of details of that settlement are not public, but it took a tremendous effort. And most people are not so equipped to do something like that.