In Sonoma County, a man is battling more than a dozen tumors in his body.
Oh, and now he is fighting a different battle, says CBS News, with his insurance carrier, Anthem Blue Cross.
They denied coverage for his treatments (which always makes for a pleasant phone call: “Hi, you paid us for years. We’re just going to keep that money and pay you in positive vibrations.”)
Jeffrey Rusch of Camp Meeker received MRI results that indicated he had 20 tumors in his brain. Two days later, a CT scan at Sutter medical center in Santa Rosa brought another “devastating blow.” Doctors discoveried a large tumor in his lungs, and more tumors in his liver and bones.
Doctors told Jeffrey he would need to be hospitalized immediately.
“My husband was having a lot of difficulty breathing already, and he was getting a lot worse, so we went to the hospital and they admitted him immediately,” Jeffrey’s wife Zoe Keating told CBS.
But the story didn’t stop there. Get this: Anthem Blue Cross WILL cover the Sonoma County cancer patient after KPIX 5 reports on the development.
So now do you know why we like seeing bureaucracy out of the situation? This is free market in play. Anthem realized that a play like theirs had repercussions. We as a society can look at the actions and affect the situation. The private company doesn’t want to be deservedly slapped with bad press.
Imagine if Medicare didn’t pay for his cancer treatment. What do you think? Do you believe this event would have been rectified so expediently?
Keep in mind our government is made of people. We’re imperfect beings. Not everything about us is golden and rosy. However, we firmly believe that “free market” principles allow for stabilizing pressure. People take accountability, and take action.
It’s a far from perfect world. But at least the press made a huge play. They made life more possible for one man.