Originally Posted At: Coalition Against HMO & Insurance Abuse
I think it time to raise hell with the insurance industry and the politicians they have bought. Here’s why. In May of 2001, my wife suffered kidney failure while hospitalized with a severe case of pneumonia. Since then she has had to have dialysis three times a week and has been waiting for a transplant. It has been nearly two years.
My wife gets her insurance thru her employer and the company was bought by another company. On the first of January, they changed insurance companies and the new company (Aetna) doesn’t seem to want to answer their phones. On January 20, the local hospital called to say that they had a kidney ready for my wife’s transplant, but we couldn’t have it done because the insurance hadn’t approved it. We couldn’t contact the insurance company because it was a legal holiday.
Now, Aetna old us today that they will not approve of a transplant in Tulsa; it has to be done at Baylor University in Texas. Baylor told my wife that she has to fill out a bunch of forms for them and then wait again for a kidney. It’s going to be expensive for us to spend time in Texas.
Meantime, my wife’s company is again up for sale. If they cut back on employment, move to a different region, cancel employee insurance or change insurance companies, she will again be unable to get the transplant. Please complain to your congressmen and other politicians. This kind of thing must stop.
Sincerely, from Oklahoma
