Cigna stands by liver-transplant-coverage decision
 

Cigna stands by liver-transplant-coverage decision
Insurer initially denied funding, then reversed itself, but patient, 17, died

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) - Cigna decided not to pay for a liver transplant, then reversed itself, but the 17-year-old patient died before she could undergo the procedure, the attorney for the patient's family said.
Media reports say the Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos, representing the family of Nataline Sarkisyan, said he would sue the Philadelphia insurer and would ask the district attorney to press criminal charges as well.
In a statement on Monday, two Cigna HealthCare executives expressed condolences to the family but stood by the firm's determination that the patient's plan did not cover the transplant.
Cigna went to "two independent experts in the field who agreed that the procedure in question, given the patient's particular circumstances, would not have been an effective or appropriate treatment," Cigna HealthCare President David Cordani and Chief Medical Officer Jeffrey Kang said in the statement.
Sarkisyan was diagnosed with leukemia at 14 and received a bone-marrow transplant from her brother a month ago, but complications arose and she needed the transplant, the reports said.
Doctors from the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center urged Cigna to enable the transplant.
At the same time, doctors quoted in media reports said that such a transplant might be futile because the drugs required to support the procedure could worsen the leukemia.
Cigna had initially said that the transplant was experimental and it would not pay for the procedure. The family and supporters protested, however, and Cigna reversed itself.
In the Monday statement, Cigna said it made an exception based on the "unique circumstances of this situation," saying that the procedure was outside the plan's coverage and that medical evidence that it would be effective was lacking.
But Sarkisyan's condition worsened and she was taken off life support on Thursday. She died shortly thereafter, media reports said. End of Story

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/stor...D44831132AF%7D

sucks and it will get worse

Reversing their decision is whats going to bite them in the ass.

Terminal illness is a scary sad long process. I find it sad that this girl was so young. I cant say who is right and wrong in this situation, but looking at it from a medical standpoint.. how much time would this girl have had if the liver transplant took? If I were the doctor, I would have chosen to give the liver to someone that I knew would have the better chance of surviving. It states if she were to receive the transplant , the drugs would worsen the luekemia.

As far as insurance companies making decisions.. they shouldnt..

Unfortunately our healthcare is ruled by th insurance companies.. the hypocratic oath doesnt mean shit anymore.

Sometimes we just need to let go and let life take its natural course.

I am thankful for my kids having good health everyday.

i hope most people understand it's not a one sided argument.

if insurance companies covered every operation that "might" bring some hope , either our insurance would skyrocket or some people would be left with nothing.

i dont know the full details but i'm pretty sure she was in a vegetative state and again dont quote me but i believe the doctor said this would give her 6 more months to live if she got it.

so your talking millions of $$ to extend someone's life 6 months when there are others who get nothing.

i am thankfull for what i have , it always sucks when people die, you will always second guess the decisions you and others have made afterwards.

that is what you get when you have medicine for profit companies.
shareholder profit is more important then human lifes
one day the government may wake up and come up with social medicine like most of the other countries who take care of their citizen instead of sending them to war to die for a cause that is not known and not proven

The only way, or day, that politicians will be "waking the fuck up", is when they are forced to have the same health coverage as the 'average American'. Not their bloated, frisky, civil servant, compliments of the tax payer, superior coverage.

Once they start seeing their health coverage suffer.. then, and ONLY THEN, will you see some changes.

:2 cents: