Another victim of the pathetic U.S. health insurance system.....

[marmar]

via MichaelMoore.com:



November 20th, 2008 12:14 pm
Couple Fights Insurance Over Cancer Treatment

Procedures Denied For Being Experimental

KMBC

Kansas City, Mo. -- We rely on our insurance company to take care of our medical needs. But what if your health insurance company denies your needs?

"In the sadness and the sickness, we've been blessed because it could be worse," said Tamara Howard.

Together for 26 years, Tamara and Russ Howard were prepared to fight when Tamara was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer.

Intravenous chemotherapy did not do anything to the tumor. So doctors recommended chemoembolization.KMBC's Lara Moritz reported that Blue Cross Blue Shield verbally approved it. Doctors performed it. Then Blue Cross sent a letter reversing its decision, deeming it too experimental . The Howards were stuck with almost $44,000 in medical bills.

The insurance company also denied chemotherapy pills, pain pills, hospital stays and any other procedure to reduce Howard's tumor. The tumor continued to grow. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=12657

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Heartbreaking hardly describes this..

[pansypoo53219]

2. shakespeare had it wrong.

1st we kill all the heath insurance people.

[Greyhound]

3. We sit idly by, knowing this is happening thousands of times every day,

while our 'leaders' tell us "We just need to get this for everybody, see? That's universal health care".
:kick: & R

[girl gone mad]

4. Claim denials will probably rise dramatically soon.

Insurance companies are losing lots of money from their bad investments right now.

[SmileyRose]

5. Verbal approval?

yes BCBS sucks the big one - has ever since they went for profit - but any doctor's office that would go ahead with an expensive treatment without having BCBS fax over the approval are a big pile of stupidasses.

A patient with an expensive to treat illness can be forgiven for their lapse in vigilence on the red tape. A sick person can only be expected to do so much. But the doctor's office are dumbasses. They do this everyday and should damn well know better than "verbal approval".