‘Wrong answer’: Kevin O’Leary blasts health insurance execs for hiring security guards, putting fences around HQ — instead of listening to Americans’ ‘frustration.’ Here’s what he wants

O’Leary suggests automation and technology could improve outcomes for many. With better technology, “when you appeal a case, it's not a delay situation and if you have a valid claim, you get paid out,” he claims. “That's what insurance is supposed to do.”

However, the U.S. health insurance industry has already integrated artificial intelligence and automation to drive denials even higher and lower their costs, according to the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA).

Medicare for all

The U.S. is the only country in the developed world without universal health coverage, according to the Commonwealth Fund.

Most countries with high incomes don’t have to deal with an expensive middle layer of private insurance companies between doctors and patients.

To align the U.S. system with its peers, senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have proposed a “Medicare For All” program. This program would introduce a single-payer healthcare system that would replace private insurance with a government-run program, providing universal healthcare coverage to all Americans, funded primarily through taxes.

However, without broad-based support with lawmakers, this policy is a long way from being implemented.

For now, American families can mitigate the costs of their healthcare by shopping around for insurance providers based on their denial rates, comparing plans on platforms such as Healthcare.gov, exploring the coverage and benefits provided by their employer and tapping into tax credits and subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to lower monthly premiums.