Sara was also diagnosed with ovarian cancer. And while she has had surgery and is doing well (as well as a woman with ovarian cancer can be doing), she and her family has also had to face an extraordinary amount of struggles along with cancer.
I do not want to list them all as I feel these are her experiences to share and not mine, though Sara is very open to anyone with questions. I do encourage people to visit her blog -- Domestic Type -- where she writes about her experiences with cancer, post operation, and other issues facing her family.
The reason for my writing? Sara's insurance company had initially agreed to pay for her chemotherapy treatments and had, in fact, agreed to it in writing. It wasn't until after Sara was recovering from surgery that the company withdrew their agreement. All of these chemotherapy treatments are now out of pocket. As you can imagine, these costs are tremendous. Her husband has just lost his job due to budget costs at the university he was working with and they've had to move. The list goes on.
This is not a family who grovels for money. Asking for help has been a struggle for them. In fact, Sara and her husband are not asking for help for the entire costs of surgery and so forth. They are asking for help with Sara's chemotherapy treatments.
Not only do I ask for help because I love this woman, but also because I know this feeling of uncertainty. When Jonathan was going through his multiple surgeries for his Chron's Disease I fell asleep each night fearing the worst. I was terrified that he would die in each surgery. The very real situation of never knowing if my spouse would live or die was my life for at least a year.
And then the medical bills came. We are so grateful Jonathan survived his surgeries, but his treatments would be debilitating without insurance. I should not have to be in a situation if my husband is healthy or not simply on the decision of an insurance company.
And neither should Sara.
This is not a matter of the health care debate. This is a matter of a woman and her husband being told, in writing, her treatments would be covered and then the agreement being taken away.
Can anyone please help me help my friend?
If you can, please go to her Indiegogo to donate.
Cristina... tell Sara to write a letter to the Department of Insurance in Utah advising them her health insurance has committed estoppel. That is a specific term used to indicate something has been promised and then withdrawn to the financial detriment of the insured (your friend). Have her include a copy of the written verification of coverage for her treatment. It's not as long a shot as it may sound. The DOI takes this kind of thing rather seriously. What the insurance company did is commit bad faith against their insured (that would be good language to use in the letter as well). This is a major no-no.
ReplyDeleteWhen my grandmother died, my mom called the life insurance carrier. They advised over the phone the policy was worth $13,000... not a windfall, by any means, but plenty to handle the final costs and such. The insurance company also advised the funeral home over the phone the costs of the funeral would be covered. They later realized they were looking at my grandFATHER's policy and not Grandma's. Hers was $1,000. They sent Mom a letter stating there wasn't coverage for the expenses. I wrote to the DOI outlining what had happened and alleged estoppel on the part of the life insurance carrier. The DOI investigated and the funeral was paid for in full. It's not tricky, it's the law. And I was a claims supervisor so I had to sit through a class on that junk and learned that term and what it means so that I could ensure my reps never committed it!
I hope it helps!
Beth
You are wonderful, Beth! I've passed it along and hope it helps. I know she has been through some appeals processes, but not sure which ones.
DeleteMost people have no idea they have recourse. Or, rather, they have no idea what the proper recourse is. I guess it's an occupational hazard for me. But if we can get her some serious help, bring it on! :)
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