Communication Work When Care is at Stake
One Family’s Journey with a Health Insurance Denial
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21616512 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jennifer J Bute (0000-0001-7203-5585, Indiana University Indianapolis), Jack M Bute (Fishers High School) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1085-1093 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-12 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Health Communication (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1041-0236 • E-ISSN: 1532-7027 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10410236.2025.2546524 |
| PMID | 40851432 |
| OpenAlex | W4413536445 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 20 |
Denials of health insurance claims in the U.S. have been increasing rapidly in recent years, taking a toll on patients, families, and the health care system. Yet health communication scholars know little about the storied experiences of those affected by these denials. In this essay, I reflect on my own family's efforts to secure insurance coverage for an orthopedic surgery for my son after our insurer repeatedly refused coverage. In doing so, I draw attention to the ways that coping with a health insurance denial involves a distinct type of communication labor and contributes to advancing research using the Integrative Theory of Communication Work. I contend that health communication scholars are uniquely positioned to contribute to our understanding of health insurance denials and to suggest improvements to this complex bureaucratic process
Actuarial science · Business · Denial · Health care · Health insurance · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Public relations · Sociology · Engineering · Ethics in medical practice · Law · Patient Dignity and Privacy · Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare · Psychology · Social Psychology
Medicine as Culture
Uncertainty in Illness
Parents’ Communication Work in the Management of Food Allergies
An Examination of How People Appraise and Manage Health-Related Financial Uncertainty
Primary Care Physicians’ Strategic Pursuit of Multiple Goals in Cost-of-Care Conversations with Patients
Communication and Uncertainty Management
Embodiment in Qualitative Research
Five Coffin Nails to Informed Consent
Crying wolf
Heartful Autoethnography
Health insurance rights and access to health care for trans people
The labor of communicatively coping
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |