Most Americans agree that dealing with the United States' health insurance system is frustrating. But Dr. Katherine Sislow, DDS (@dr.k.sislow) took it to a whole new level in an 8-minute Jan. 2, 2026, TikTok video documenting a particularly painful experience she had with a health insurance representative.
Eventually, she was able to have her patient's claim covered, but not without losing over an hour and a half of her time and a little bit of her sanity.
On the call, Dr. Sislow explains that her patient's claim for dental work had been denied three times, but she didn't understand why. After being placed on hold, she was told the insurance company didn't understand her documentation.
Then the doctor established that the one document she sent them had everything; they simply needed to scroll down. Eventually, the representative found the documentation they needed...by scrolling down. But that was only the beginning.
After a lot of back and forth, Dr. Sislow explains how the situation was a dental emergency.
"He did not go to the emergency room because this is a dental problem with a dental solution," the doctor asserted. After a pause she sighs, "yeah, I'll hold."
After more negotiating, the representative gives Sislow one thing: the first name of the doctor who refused the claim. At this point, Sislow pushed back, and the representative became defensive.
"No, I'm not threatening legal action," Sislow said. "I'm just stating that as far as record keeping is concerned, it would be a much stronger case if an actual dentist looked at it and not someone with zero dental education making these claims."
Finally, the dentist got the claim approved, but not without a last exchange on how she could avoid these types of calls in the future. "Ok, just send in everything and hope and pray?" The doctor asks.
"You know what, it's okay, I'll take the win. Have a great day."
"I am actually speechless"
The TikTok garnered 18.4 million views, 2.7 million likes and over 43,000 comments from people shocked and outraged by the video's content. Users couldn't believe the incompetence from the representative, and how much beaurocracy Dr. Sislow had to navigate on the call.
"Insurance companies is telling DOCTORS it’s not an emergency?! let that sit," a TikTok comment read.
"This should be illegal. Immediately." read another TikTok comment.
"I'm actually speechless," a Reddit post said about the video.
This TikTok video isn't an isolated incident. According to a KFF analysis, in 2023, HealthCare.gov insurers denied nearly one out of every five claims submitted for in-network services. They denied an even larger share of claims for out-of-network services.
As a result, there are hundreds of TikTok videos like Dr. Sislow's detailing insurance denials. Many of these videos hope to help change the system...one phone call at a time.
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