First, I was transferred to a number that said "We're closed" and hung up on me. It did, however, give me a chance to fill out a phone survey to let them know what I thought of their service. It's not clear that they care what someone thinks of their service, but...
I called back again. The first gentleman that I spoke to was supposed to transfer me to a supervisor, but instead just threw me back into the queue. The woman that I spoke to next promised not to do that again and eventually got me to someone else who went off to talk with the authorizations department.
The latest that I have heard is that the nurse who was supposed to finish my authorization has gone on vacation until October 16th. They have promised to try to fix my authorization and call me back tomorrow with an update.
I am hoping that this happens, because -- so far -- no one at United Healthcare has done anything that they have promised to do.