Guaranteed Healthcare

Even Insured Get Stuck With the Tab

"I thought I had good coverage through the health insurance provided by my employer, Great-West," recalls Loveta Baker of Weaverville, N.C. "Due to our family history of colon cancer, I had a colonoscopy that led to the discovery of a mass. It was followed by a quick surgery that went well, without complications at all."

"In a few weeks the bills started rolling in. I knew I'd take a larger than normal hit because I've never had any luck finding an in-network provider in my area. The closest in-network gastrointestinal specialist provided by Great-West was over an hour away, and when I called the office, it was in fact a psychiatrist's practice and not a gastrointestinal doctor at all."

Insurance Company, Hospital Gang Up On Seriously Ill Woman

"My sister-in-law Candice has suffered from asthma since childhood," recounts Jean Minute of Hinckley, Ohio. "Severely abused as a child, she was hospitalized multiple times throughout her life. She is now in her late 20's, and when her husband filled out the paperwork for hospitalization through his job as a truck driver, he included the info about her asthma and noted all the medications she was on due to it."

Uninsurable Because of Diabetes, Now Paying Off $37,000 Hospital Bill to Collection Agency

"I have a chronic illness, diabetes Type 1, and have been uninsured for about four  years due to this fact," said Sharyn Kaye of Albuquerque, N. M. "There is a rider on any insurance I apply for because of my diabetes. I have been healthy and use preventative measures to stay that way."

"Last summer, I had a hypoglycemic attack, which caused me to be hospitalized. I was in the hospital for four days and I received a bill for $37,000, which eventually was forwarded to a collection agency. I paid minimum payments to the hospital, and each time I paid they didn’t let me know what my balance was or any information for that matter. I was never seen by a case manager or any other individual that might have given me a way to resolve this."

17-Year-Old Girl Dies Awaiting Life-Saving Liver Transplant Recommended by Doctors that Insurance Initially Denies

"My beautiful 17-year-old daughter, Nataline, died last December after being denied twice by our  family's insurance company, CIGNA, for a liver transplant that was recommended by a panel of doctors at UCLA Medical Center," recalls Hilda Sarkisyan.

"Nataline battled leukemia since she was 13 and had been in remission for a long time, before the latest flair-up.  She received a successful bone marrow transplant from her older brother, Bedig, but the chemotherapy damaged her liver.  Her doctors said that if she received a liver transplant, she had a decent chance of pulling through. CIGNA said no, that the operation would be considered experimental."

Colorado Mom Says, "No One Plans to Have a Sick Baby"

Robyn Winters of Broomfield, Colo. writes, "My second child was born with health problems. Now, no one plans to have a sick baby and it just so happens that this is also the time that our insurance increased our premiums and doubled our copays for visits and prescriptions. After being denied the formula that was keeping my son alive we had no choice but to pay almost $400 per month out of pocket.

"My husband, who never gets sick developed an unusual illness and had to have an operation for the first time in his life. Within a year, my family, who was perfectly healthy and never sick was visiting the hospital so frequently that they all new us by first name and joked that it would probably be cheaper if we just paid rent.

RN and Single Mom Cannot Afford Daughter’s Insulin and Care

“I’ve been a registered nurse for over 30 years, and it sickens me what the managed care companies have done to our system,” said Barbara Masters, RN, of Sussex, N.J.  “As a nurse when you are in between jobs you are not insured, so you stop taking any meds, and I also have a 23-year-old still home who is going to school and a diabetic, who cannot qualify for any assistance because she lives with me and I make too much.

“So I am behind in my taxes as a single parent due to my husband’s death nine years ago and raising three girls alone.  It's been hard. One year I wrote to every drug company for a discount on the price of medicine for her (my diabetic daughter), and I was denied, even though I was on unemployment at the time and looking for a different job –  I still made too much for the year to qualify.

Young Woman Battles Insurance Company for Effective Medications

"I am 29 years old, and have a blood condition called ITP. I don't know how I got it, but I am stuck with a moody, unpredictable auto-immune condition," said Mira Zaki of Astoria, N.Y. "I was first diagnosed with this condition in 2004 while I was attending graduate school and generally wearing myself extremely thin in order to balance going to college and working two jobs. My health was deteriorating, but I couldn't stop because I had too much work to do.

"I reluctantly went to the emergency room and was admitted to the hospital. I stayed for a week enduring numerous tests, and obtaining three blood transfusions, transfusions of IVIG (gamma globulin) and followed up by putting me on steroids – Prednisone to stop the antibodies that were attacking and destroying my platelets.

Young Mom, Wife's Coverage Costs as Much as Mortgage

"My husband was notified that he was being laid off. Bad news considering the economy, but he's well qualified, and we have hope that he'll find a good job soon," said Kellie Rockey of Denver, Colo.  "Luckily his company gave him two weeks' notice and two months of severance which means our current insurance will last a little while longer.

"My husband is in the tech field and so in any job hunting situation, one avenue of employment is always 'contract' which nearly always means no benefits. Here is the situation for us: Our COBRA payments required to keep our health insurance coverage are nearly equal to our house payment.

Independent Trucker Loses Business and His Dream

"As an owner/operator in the trucking industry, I was contracted to a major trucking company. I purchased my health insurance at what was to me an enormous monthly cost of $760 through that company," said Lyle Schiele of Dallas, Texas.

"In February 2006, I had some minor chest pains. Doctors found clogged coronary arteries and treated them with stents in two locations. As a result of this diagnosis and treatment, I was medically disqualified from trucking for 90 days. As a contractor, I wasn't covered by COBRA and therefore lost my health insurance."

Young, Insured Father Stuck with $25,000 in Out-of-Network Costs

"When our son, Aidan, was born on March 9, 2005, at Boca Raton Community Hospital in Boca Raton,  Fla., I was an employee of Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Fla., and carried health insurance through them," said Jack Mahoney of Boca Raton.

"Because Boca Community is closer to our home in Boca Raton, my wife went there to give birth to our son. I had called the Memorial Regional insurance company a few months prior and told them that my wife would be using Boca Community, because it was closer to our home, and they did not say we would not be covered.  By the way, Memorial is self-insured, so the state of Florida has no jurisdiction over them."