Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
After Insurers' Denial, Woman's Family Paid For $95,000 Cancer Treatment She Believes Saved Her Life. Her Case Against UnitedHealthcare Marches On.
Boston Globe: Insurer That Denied Cancer Treatment Asks For Dismissal Of Boston Woman’s Lawsuit
The country’s largest health insurer is seeking to toss a federal lawsuit that alleges it wrongly denied coverage for a controversial radiation treatment to a Boston woman with cervical cancer. Kate Weissman sued UnitedHealthcare earlier this year after it refused to pay for her $95,000 treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital. The treatment, called proton beam radiation therapy, is designed to precisely target a tumor while protecting the surrounding organs. (Dayal McCluskey, 8/27)
Des Moines Register: Company Tried To Cut Off Health Insurance When Worker Needed It Most
The company told him after a heart attack and open-heart surgery that his health insurance had been cut off because he had worked too few hours. He learned later, only through his own inquiry, that his insurance coverage couldn't be canceled under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Those who work at least 24 hours a week for an employer with more than 50 employees in a 75-mile radius, and have been at their job a year or more, qualify for protection under the federal act. (Rood, 8/26)
