Whether you dislike Apple's penchant for exclusivity or not, Insurance companies are the devil.

I suppose there will be a lot of Apple-bashing and "If you dont like it, dont buy it" in response, with a "overpriced shiny gadgets didnt deny you payments." +5 to the first person who ties in Jobs to the Financialapocalypse in a semi plausible way.
Expect some low blows about Jobs health not being disclosed and returning jabs about it being his private matter.

@Lucifer_Cat: Oh, but i forgot to add, United Healthcare will win anyways. Hands down.

Healthcare companies are inherently evil.

@Lucifer_Cat: Well, your avatar is Tux, a Linux mascot.

I'm somewhat confused as to how Apple even made the bracket. Their support is generally good, their philosophy is consumer-friendly, and half the Consumerist stories on Apple have a happy ending, or are positive to begin with.

@Brian Ackerman: That just sold it for me...

Apple is one of the most evil companies on the planet. Their price doesn't bother me -- there will always be a company that makes a pricier version.

What bothers me about Apple is that they force people to use their devices only how Apple says, and people accept it, like mindless sheep. Apple is evil, vote for Apple.

I can tell you that UHG has paid millions of dollars in fines and class action settlements for using a home-based system to short change claims that cost members higher out of pocket costs. This program has also caused lawsuits against other health insurance companies that used this program. The company is awful, and needs to make it to the next round. Please, as a worker for UHG, vote them in!

While apple may be pricey, I'm sure they have never made decisions to deny people medicine and healthcare

@AvWuff: lol, they don't force you to do anything. You have the choice to buy (or not to buy) an Apple product!

I vote for Apple, because if they weren't around, we wouldn't have to deal with Apple fanboys all day every day.

/just kidding, I voted for UHC.
//is cut open by a fanboy wielding a razor-sharp MacBook air.

@Nighthawke: Me Cat just has a thing for well dressed penguins.

@BadBoyNDSU: Me=Maybe

@Brian Ackerman: Like Facebookers.

I've actually had United Healthcare, and it's placement in the bracket is justified. Lack of participating providers, ridiculous monthly premiums, and poor customer service. Worst health care I've ever had.

Call me when Apple kills someone.
Until then, UHC all the way.

The only explanation I can think of is that perhaps UHC isn't on the radar of younger, healthy types? No experience means nothing to compare against technology religion?

Otherwise, 25% of you people are freaking high.

United Healthcare for the win. I could buy a decent Apple computer system for the cost of two monthly C.O.B.R.A. payments to United Healthcare. It is a very expensive service that I never want to use.

I voted UnitedHealthcare, because of the $1.50 check they sent me after I paid $150 for a filling. I guess that's directed more so towards their DENTAL PLAN (lisa needs braces), which I have through work (as well as the health plan, which I haven't used yet).

I was stuck with United Health for a year on a plan that made absolutely no sense. Some magical percentage of some costs would go toward my deductible, while others wouldn't. An appointment that my pediatrician made for my daughter with an optometrist -- a medically necessary decision -- was denied because the eye wasn't a "covered organ." I appealed and got a lovely letter that stated that they wouldn't care if the appointment were the only option medically available -- they still would never, ever cover it. I paid out of pocket, and I don't think any of it went to my family's deductible.

I finally got them back by having a heart attack two weeks before moving to a different provider. They lost something like $50K on me. That, and the fact that there was no permanent heart damage, damn near made the experience worthwhile.

I voted for United Health, by the way.

Apple: sometimes annoying, too controlling of computing experience.

UNH: kills people.

Not a really hard choice.

As a die hard Windows, Xbox 360, and Zune user I decided to unbiasedly vote for United Healthcare.

Sorry guys, but as much as I like Microsoft products there really is nothing I can think of about Apple that would make me even tink they are a bad company, let alone the worst. Hell, they even gave $100,000 to the "No on 8" campaign in California because they are very progressive and equalistic.

Besides everybody knows health insurance companies are the scum of our corporate sector; profiting off of death... wow.

@Lucifer_Cat: Yeah except this isn't Gizmodo so arguments will be much more (even more?) stupid and baseless.

@Nighthawke: Lol, that doesnt mean i'm anti-Apple. Infact I looooove my iPod. Wouldnt buy the iPhone or the macbook air ever though.

@BadBoyNDSU: Its just a left over symbolism from my days as a grad student. I had 3 linux based classes, was my final semester, totally overworked, sleep deprived, and between all of that, had to attend all the on-campus job events. Needless to say, i added on a few pounds with eating at the food court all the time. (Disclaimer: was nowhere near to being rotund ever)

Irony: Apple uses UHC as their main provider. (Ex-employee here.) I'd vote UHC in a heartbeat, because, even though I didn't get much of a raise at Apple, they never denied me coverage for a prescription.

@Billy Gillispie's Unsigned Contract That May Soon Be Void: Be nice to Mr. Ackerman. He might _just_ be related to Malin Ackerman.

If you dont have the hots for her, snipe away :P

@samchristian: "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

@ludwigk: Maybe because when I was in the market for a new laptop about 6 months ago I was able to configure a top of the line Dell XPS M1530 for $1,800. A simirlarily equipped 15" MacBook Pro (Apple was still using the previous gen processors and chipsets at this time, not the new line that had just been released, hence the use of similarly) was $2,8000. The 1530 is also a very sexy piece of hardware. I've always admired the look of Apple products, but I prefer my Dell to the 15" MacBook.

@zonk7ate9: Right, but expensive isn't inherently anti-consumer, which is what a company should be in here fore

@coren: for

@HFC: *eyeroll*

@AvWuff: You mean like jailbroken iPhones and former Macs hacked to run Windows (or OSX run on a non-apple built box)?

27 percent Apple? Are you fucking kidding?

How many stories about Apple on Consumerist end with a negative resolution?

Even better - how many stories are posted here saying "Apple went way beyond the call"?

@PunditGuy: Wow, that's the first time I've seen a positive spin on a heart attack!

@legwork: Your probably right, I haven't been to the Doctor since I was 16 (6 years ago) and that was only for a physical for sports. I'm a goldmine to my health insurance company. The later portion of your comment may apply to me, but it has nothing to do with why I voted for Apple. Just because I own and iPod and an iPhone doesn't mean I can't hate Apple (it was actually the iPhone that made me start hating Apple).

@TinkishDelight: I dunno, Gizmodo's Apple articles tend to bring out the worst in humanity. It'd be tough to be worse than that

I'd say of Apple's 28% of the vote, 90% of that is anti-Apple Microsoft fanboys and the rest is the few who've had a genuinely bad experience with Apple.

@coren: you need to hack a Mac to run Windows? Is Boot Camp a hack, now? I guess I'm l33t

@ForrestWhitakersLazyEye: feel you pain...anthem bc/bs refuses to believe that a filling costs more than $23 (& they reimburse me 75% of that).

tell that to my $120/filling dentist (who isn't the most expensive in the area, by any means).

OMG!!!1!! BUT APLLE PUT DRM IN THERE HEADPHONES!!!

I think this is an unfair matchup. Apple is certainly evil in many ways, but I don't see how any of the big health insurance companies could even compare to the others. For the love of god, they make money on our fear of poor health/injury and they try to make more money by denying benefits whenever they can!

I don't like Apple's policies much, but they never killed anyone, either.

@AvWuff: I could give two shits about iPods and iPhones. I can use my Mac any damn way I please. I have it triple-booting into OS X, XP, and Debian.

@Lucifer_Cat: I don't have any experience with United Healthcare. As for Apple: Overpriced computers, smartphones that require a pricey contract, DRM on music, then a fee for removing DRM on music, then price hikes on music. And Apple fanboys.

@AvWuff: That makes that 1984 Macintosh commercial

@Spero: Yeah. Unless Giz features it on their site and tells the fanboys to vote for UHC. And quite naturally the opposite will happen and the Applehaters will come out in force and spew their hate. And the fanboys will respond...

*sigh* a man can dream...

@Billy Gillispie's Unsigned Contract That May Soon Be Void: Damn right. Plus, Microsoft fanboys are every bit as obnoxious. I've never seen any Apple fan post about how trendy and cool they think their machine is, that's purely a M$ fanbase invention (created out of jealousy).

Um. United almost managed to weasel out of paying for the ob/gyn to deliver my son last year ($6,500). I spent a month, praying I didn't go into labor before I got a written statement guaranteeing coverage...as promised in my policy.

I'd put them a lot higher up for worst company in America, IMHO.