Brain Surgery Denied to a 19-year-old
Posted on July 21st, 2008 by Levana Layendecker in Insurance Nightmares
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In a stunning example of how insurance industry practices are part of the problem, a 19-year-old Florida woman was denied the brain surgery she needed and then told she was not covered under the plan her parents paid into.
From TampaBay10.com:
Caitlin needs immediate surgery for her condition, and she was hours away from getting it.
The problem? Her insurance company, Aetna. They approved the operation 15 minutes too late. Caitlin lost the operating room to another patient and had to be rescheduled.
Then, the company came back with an even bigger shocker. They told her they would not cover her brain surgery at all, that her benefits ran out.
The family would now have to foot the bill at a staggering $113,000. Tampa General Hospital was requiring $55,000 down, and the rest after the operation.
This is exactly why it is so important that we don't trust the insurance companies on health care reform. We have to make sure that Congress is ready to pass real reform in 2009.
If you are in Columbus, Ohio tomorrow, come on out to help us stop the insurers from thwarting real reform. More details here.
This is appalling but does not surprise me at all. I had to wait for years before I got a good enough insurance policy to be able to have a long-standing salivary gland tumor removed and radiation therapy afterwards. Thank goodness it wasn't killing me, but it was the size of a golf ball.
Congress must step in and put a stop to these abusive insurance practices.