Weight Loss Surgery: We Need Health Insurance Reform
You may have heard of the tragic death of the 17 year-old San Francisco girl who was approved too late by the insurance company Cigna for a liver transplant. Nataline Sarkisyan died after being denied for her surgery even though her surgeons had written to Cigna saying that her survival depended on the operation. Cigna refused and the doctors appealed. Cigna denied the request again. It was only after protests were staged at Cigna headquarters that they finally gave in and approved the procedure. But it was too late for Nataline. She died before the surgery could be performed. The parents’ attorney are pressing to have Cigna charged with man slaughter and even murder.
How many morbidly obese people have been in this same position? How many surgeons have written to insurance companies and pleaded the case for someone who would die without weight loss surgery, only to be denied? I receive thousands of emails and the most heart breaking of all are from those family members who ask me to remove their loved one from my newsletter subscription list because their loved one died waiting for surgery.
Yes, we are in serious need of health care reform. Insurance companies must be stopped from playing God when doctors appeal for the life of their patients for needed surgeries. These tragedies need to mean something for the greater good so that access to care cannot be denied because of prejudice or cost.
Barbara, we do need health care reform. It breaks my heart to hear these people that have gotten their hopes up for weight loss surgery only to be denied from their health care Insrance. What can we do? Those of us that were lucky enough to have the surgery need to fight for those in need. So let’s get started!
December 31st, 2007 at 10:43 pm
One of the best place to direct your energy is to the Obesity Action Coalition http://www.obesityaction.org/home/index.php. Join and support their efforts!
Barbara
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:28 pm
What is sad, is the same insurance companies that are denying benefits for these surgeries are funding the research on them. It would seem they would have less money going out with the comorbidies then just paying for us to have the surgery.
June 29th, 2008 at 10:27 am