Guaranteed Healthcare

17-Year-Old Girl Dies Awaiting Life-Saving Liver Transplant Recommended by Doctors that Insurance Initially Denies

"My beautiful 17-year-old daughter, Nataline, died last December after being denied twice by our  family's insurance company, CIGNA, for a liver transplant that was recommended by a panel of doctors at UCLA Medical Center," recalls Hilda Sarkisyan.

"Nataline battled leukemia since she was 13 and had been in remission for a long time, before the latest flair-up.  She received a successful bone marrow transplant from her older brother, Bedig, but the chemotherapy damaged her liver.  Her doctors said that if she received a liver transplant, she had a decent chance of pulling through. CIGNA said no, that the operation would be considered experimental."

Cheryl Scott

HMOs Decide 57-Year-Old Husband's Life Not Worth Saving

"My late husband was diagnosed in July of 2005 with a brain tumor," recounts Cheryl Scott, RNn of Sacramento, Calif. "He had double coverage from two major healthcare systems–one through his retirement from his past job, and another through my insurance."

"When he was diagnosed in our first year of marriage with glioblastoma at the age of 57, both HMOs denied him options for radiation and chemotherapy. Both systems told my late husband, Bob, that if he were 40 years old they would provide these accepted treatment options for glioblastomas, but they denied him these options because he was almost 60 years old. They would only provide palliative care. He had been in perfect health all of his life. This was his first problem other than a sprained ankle. He died six months later."

RN Suffering from Incurable Disease Fails to Keep Up With Medical Expenses Even Though She's Insured

Pays $14,000 a year out of pocket

"After being an emergency room nurse for 17 years, I became too ill to work," said Jan Stephens, an RN from Anaheim, Calif.  "It all started out manageable enough.  In 1992, I enrolled in a Blue Cross policy with a monthly premium of $282, a $500 annual deductible, and a $250 prescription drug deductible.

"Then in 1995, I was diagnosed with an incurable bladder disease called interstitial cystitis and several other coexisting illnesses. I was disabled due to the excruciating pain and, like so many other people who become sick and can't work, I had to live on a fixed income. Problem was, my insurance costs kept going up. Now, my monthly insurance premiums are $639, with an annual deductible of $1,500, and I pay up to $500 per month out of pocket for prescription drugs.

Retiree Hires Attorney to Keep Her Coverage

“I was promised lifetime insurance by my employer (USA Today).  In May, my employer farmed out billing to Aetna and refused to take my check,” said Coline George of Camarillo, California. “Aetna had no record of me. The only informed person I talked to said that Aetna only did my employer's COBRA account.”

Many Americans must navigate COBRA benefit rules and regulations following job losses or retirement.  COBRA benefits allow former employer-based group health insurance coverage to be retained for several months following job separation.  But the benefits are expensive as the employer no longer pays any portion of the premium, and it can also be very difficult to keep coverage in force, as Coline soon found out. 

Blue Cross Denies Back Surgery for RN

"I am faced with an insurance hell. Six days before a planned surgery, Blue Cross denied surgery for an artificial disc implantation or disc arthroplasty. This was on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. The lumbar artificial disc by Synthes Spine called Prodisc was approved by the FDA in August 2006. It is one of two FDA-approved lumbar discs available," said Kim Kutcher of Dana Point, Calif.

"It is disconcerting enough to prepare for this kind of surgery without being told a few days before that it is cancelled because Blue Cross deems it 'investigational'. I had already gone through pre-op testing, donated a unit of autologous blood, had appointments with four physicians, and arranged my schedule prior to the expected operation date. 

17-year-old Fights for Cancer Care from His Insurer

"Our insurance company, PacifiCare, denied my brother Nick approval to go to Kansas City for a special treatment of radiation for his cancer (this could save his life). Nick has suffered with cancer for four years of his life, and he has exhausted every avenue to get better, but nothing worked. This is our last effort and this procedure has worked before with people in Nick's situation," said Ricky Colombo, Nick's older brother, of Placentia, Calif.