CIGNA Faces 'Legal Nightmare' Over Death by Denial

[t43700]

Didn't seem to be for Larry Hagman, David Crosby, Steve Jobs, Phil Lesh, Jack Bruce, and a list of other rich folks. Maybe it's just experimental for the rest of us.

[edo878787]

this so sad man.I hate all those insurance companies, they are just here to make money, not to help people. if you need money, go make it, for that you need f**cking paper, not people's life. why are you playing with humans lives? if you did not give them their lives, why are you taking it from them? whoever is behind this, let him/her to know there is God , and one day you will get your punishment

[rumpole33]

cigna approves the transplant only when they knew the kid was in a coma & going to die anyways. it was just for show. if they were really going to do the transplant, they would have done it earlier. i think it must be a sick joke on cigna's part to 'ok' it only when they knew that it wasnt going to be done anyways.

[bitchyru]

Cigna is the shittiest of all these shit companies. They denied my claim 8 years ago now karma got them in their fat rich ass. Hopefully they will lose a lot of money and go bakrupt.

[MWhite1481]

I HATE greedy people! FUCK YOU CIGNA!!!!!!!!!

[justice4J]

I've had the pleasure of spending a day with the Sarkisyans a few months after their beautiful daughter Nataline's death. They are remarkable people who fight on after such a horrible tragedy. I hope Mark Geragos is successful in this case. As Hilda might say, "may Nataline's wings be on his shoulders" as he presses forward with this. My best to the Sarkisyans and Mr. Geragos.

[mjgcont]

Several years something similar happened to me. I was 29 years old and was told by my doctor I needed a liver transplant. My insurance at the time denied it saying it was 'experimental'. That was the worse nightmare I have ever been through. Three years later bye the grace of God, I was able to get on an insurance that would approve a transplant even though I had a pre existing condition. For some reason God did not want me yet. I got my transplant. That was 22 years ago.

[muratshawn]

This happens every single day in every single city and state....and people who do not get,why insurance companies should completely die off from out system,are complete retards, what a shitty system in a country that pretends to be one nation under God. Sickening...this Girl would lived & would have gotten her transplant in any country in europe,not only right away,but also for free.

Anyone who is against universal healthcare,will regret it when they face a deadly illness or disease,bastards

[dauntless111]

agreed.

those who deny healthcare for profit and bonuses, have secured their place in hell.

[muratshawn]

thanks, this is a perfect example,that this girl died because of the insurance compaby literally killing her by denying the treatment...after pressure and all,then they start acting. Do people realize,that we are the ONLY nation,the ONLY nation on earth,that has a healthcare system,run by "private,profit -insurance companies????" we are the only nation,that has a system that profits from sick people...Its amazing,this system is even allowed and legal...

[21suzy21]

free heath care rules!

[beatnikjd]

Unfortunately there will be no criminal charges and no one will be held accountable. Everyone involved in the denial of care in this case should face murder charges and be punished accordingly. Insurance companies are the problem and should not be a part of any health care solution. If they go out of business so what? We will be better off without a for profit health care system!

[NIRL91]

America needs to get a grip, stop obsessing about it and do something, healthcare cannot be trusted in the hands of those who desire profit more than anything. government is there to help us, not restrict, America seems to be afraid of its government, whereas in France or UK the government is afraid of its people like it should be

[greenpeacedoug]

I knew two people that have died of leukemia in the last six months. Are insurance companies funding any of the research to help treat (or cure) the disease? Not at all. In a universal system, our savings over the current system could go towards research and PREVENT terminal illness. I have cigna insurance and it disgusts me.

[LymeLies]

What about the doctor? They just sit around waiting for approval for money while their patient dies? How about do the operation and deal with insurance later? I blame both the doctor and insurance company. What a sad day. Healthcare for profit will NEVER work!

[pasztet79]

"...Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression..."

[aviomaster]

dotdadee --- IT is a crime of the highest order ... FUCK CIGNA and health care insurance ... THAT is why goverment should be keeping INSURANCE MONEY ...

[aviomaster]

--- MY sister is having headaches for 2 years now .... DOCTOR said you need a MRI  scan .... INSURANCE said ... Oo NO you do not neeed MRI scan .... THE BAD thing is SHE HAS a HEALTH CARE INSURANCE ....Blue Cross Blue Shield .... SAME SHIT CIGNA whatever ....

[dotdadee]

iSN'T IT PREMEDITATED MURDER WHEN AN INSURANCE COMPANY DENIES COVERAGE AND THE PATIENT DIES BECAUSE OF THEIR DENIAL?

[tombstonetom]

Americans, American charities, and the American goverment should buy up shares in American healthcare companies and then vote to make them non profit. This used to be true when the churches ran the hospitals.

[GUGUlink]

i love '' sicko '' great movie. look what happened. cigna should go to hell. charge cigna with murder. god bless america. cuba does have free universal care. god bless america.

[momzlilmonster]

People pay their insurance..to insure they have proper health care...thats the point! The US does not have an over population problem it has a greed problem. How much $ is enough for these corp. ceo's? Shame on them! Her blood is on their hands.

[UWBizKid]

We all have to work together and I've been a victim of CIGNA as well but fortunately worked for an employer with nearly 40,000 employee's that made the difference. I worked at Corporate and they told them that they needed to "PAY THE BILL" or face a change of carrier. But we all have to work on this together.

[UWBizKid]

It isn't just Cigna, there are the Doctors and nurses too. I spoke to a Doctor today who said that they have spend so many minutes with their patients and I said you need a good cost accountant who can demonstrate that spending quality time actually saves money because patients heal faster when they feel good.

[CrucieFiction]

This tragedy was mentioned by John Edwards in a speech tonight following his 2nd place Democratic finish in Iowa:

youtube . com/watch?v=1gNaS4mvnwc

[surfasaur]

Profit-based denial of healthcare is criminal!

[ducttapeOO7]

quarterduce: you are a big asshole. u keep saying resources are limited....do u know the billions of dollars that the CEOs of such gigantic health insurance companies make!?! your either extremely ignorant, or extremely stupid. second, i want to see what you would do yourself if your life was put on the line, would you sit back and "celebrate" of whats left of it? or aggressively fight back to save your life?! you are a coldhearted imbecile, wake up ...

[madebymarco]

Health Insurance companies in the US suck!

[FFace6]

The companies are doing exactly what they should do: whatever is necessary to make a profit.

It's the US Givernment that sucks because it allows such a blatantly flawed system to exist and proliferate.

[Sitecats]

Sue Cigna for their entire fortunes. Then let's get the rest of them out of business the same way. If money is all they understand, let's take it away with available lawyers.

[quarterduce]

I've heard that she probably would have only lived six more months after the liver transplant, is that true? If so, is spending millions on a liver for someone who's going to die in a few months justified?

[odetomy]

Quarterduce, every minute of life is justified. 6 more months is still 6 more months of life. What kind of selfish generation are we raising here? The Republicans have been in office too long! And so have the private health insurance companies!

...

Dennis Kucinich 2008!!

[quarterduce]

First, I'm not a kid. I've been around in life long enough to know that resources are limited and we all have to make choices, sometimes hard ones, based on what we can afford. Everyone deserves basic health care, but at times it's just not justified to spend millions when the life expectancy is so short. cont...

[quarterduce]

I think we also need to stop being so afraid of dying. It happens to all of us, it's part of life. If it is really true that girl only had 6 more months to live even with a liver transplant, IMO her family should have poured their energy into celebrating what was left of her life *with* her rather than spending it fighting with CIGNA.

[quarterduce]

And BTW, I agree the private companies have to go. It is a conflict of interest to have profit and health care together. Everyone should get Medicare and we should pay for it through taxes.

[jdktheone]

I hate when people say its too late to change the system when the solution is so simple. Just look at any other fucking country in this entire damn world. I love america to death but at this moment there is just way to many issues which this country has fucked up.

[Berumen85]

@jdktheone Then leave if its so bad..

[rumpole33]

@Berumen85: if all the cold-hearted ppl like u left, then we would have had universal healthcare long ago, LIKE ALL THE OTHER FIRST WORLD COUNTRIES

[Berumen85]

@rumpole33 Im cold hearted because I dont want universal health care? Many people that dont have insurance get free care already.. Im saying dont put America down in the process. The problem of universal health care is more government takeover of a multi-billion dollar industry. I just dont want more money taken out of my pocket, and I have no say about it. I believe in reform not government take over.

[rumpole33]

@Ber: u told someone who pointed out that he loved america, but acknowledged that there's prob.s to leave. what's up w/ that?

it's not true that many/ most ppl w/o ins. get free care. that's why in the sicko movie, a guy w/o ins. had to chose which finger he could afford to sew back on

the guy wasnt putting down the US. again, he said he loved it. u can love a country & still point out needed improvemts

there isnt 'more' govt takeover as there's been none yet. regulation isnt 'takeover'

[Berumen85]

@rumpole33 Continued... In-turn feeding more money into the "trusted hands" of the government. We see how the government treated Social security.. its a general fund to them. The Social Security will be done in the next 10-20yrs. Social security or "universal healthcare" sound like great ideas but dont think they're used to the best of intentions.

[rumpole33]

@Ber: yesterday, i saw a man grab his left arm, go into convulsions, & collapse at a bus bench next to a hospital. he had what looked like hospital papers & hospital stuff in a clear bag. fortunately for him, there was an ambulance driving by & the guys were able to work on him whilst they waited for paramedics. the guy-50/60 y.o.-had a dirty jacket & holes in his pants & looked scruffy. from what i could gather, he was discharged, walked over to the bus stop & had a heart attack of something

[rumpole33]

@Ber: if u pay for ins., u already have $ taken out of ur pocket to cover the higher cost at the hospitals/meds/dr.s/labs, etc to cover their cost of the uninsured. dont u realize that?

reform an industry whose business it is to make sure u get as little treatmt as possible at the highest premium regardless of how much 'reform' is enacted

i'm all for healthcare where the 1st thing the corporations/govt doesnt think of is "how much is this going to cost us to save this child's life?"

[Berumen85]

@rumpole33 I know the insured pay for the uninsured, and thats not fair to paying Americans(including myself). I would like that to change... but I dont care for requiring every American to have health care and to have every business offer health care. If a business cannot offer care they're penalized, which either drives people to "Obama care" or outrageously priced private care. Americans will prefer to take the cheaper "Obama care"/tax route.

[rumpole33]

@Beru: cont... i guess he was there sitting cuz he was still feeling sick. he wasnt all for more medical attention, cuz he knew the hospital would only take a quick look at him to see if he was stable enough to walk out yet again but bill him an enormous amt yet again. he looked homeless/very impoverished. hospitals here in los angeles let out homeless ppl all the time, even whilst still in hospital gowns, even driving them to skid row or paying a taxi to do so. it's been caught on tape...

[rumpole33]

@Beru: if we had the SAME HEALTHCARE SYSTEM as in other FIRST WORLD COUNTRIES, then this guy would have been allowed to stay in the hospital a bit longer, so that the FIRST thing he did as he walked away WOULDNT HAVE BEEN to have another heart attack. did u ever see anybody go thru this in front of ur own eyes? i did. it was an ugly sight. he was flopping around on the ground like a fish & in great pain....

[rumpole33]

@Beru: idk what small town u live in, but here in los angeles, u see homeless ppl w/ huge sores on their legs w/o medical treatment, blood sores on their bodies, all sorts of weird skin ailments, sick to the hilt-lying on the ground types of illnesses - nevermind the non-homeless being ill & having to chose betw meds or their homes for their kids, which i've seen also. ppl who dont have sympathy for others prolly didnt have to go thru such tragedies themselves. lucky you.

[umbrellaBuddha]

@Berumen85 I'm so curious how people with your opinion don't see that its the insurance companies who have already taken over, and that their success in guiding public policy is in direct competition to your interests. The phrase "government takeover" is propaganda, it has been perpetually repeated by publications and figures you trust until it ultimately sank in - thats what propaganda IS. You at LEAST cannot deny it has been perpetually repeated. You are being mislead man..

[Beatlebabyagain]

Damn Insurance Companies. I too am on a liver transplant list, but it does have a cap on what all it will pay. At least it is of some help, but what happens after that ends??? I hate to even think about it. AMERICA NEEDS to make some changes!!! Look at the other countries ---- they have much better systems. I imagine I will be moving out of the US once my Insurance taps out.

[bjhorton2005]

God damned insurance companies. This is disgusting, and way too common.

[MeandProgressive]

It is nothing more than taxpayer subsidized profits for Corporations such as Progressive. Obviously, Progressive's millions of dollars in excess capital which Progressive President & CEO Glenn Renwick has bragged about to his shareholders has a cost to society.

[MeandProgressive]

Bankruptcy, home foreclosures, suicides, mangled bodies and lives these are all tragedies which taxpayers are forced to fund when Progressive scams its policyholders. When did human carnage for the benefit of and profit motives of Progressive County Mutual Insurance Company become an acceptable concept in which everyone looks the other way knowing what is happening.

[MeandProgressive]

The question for legislators is: if we as the general public are required by law to carry minimum liability automobile insurance and we do as part of our legal and financial obligations, isn't it then a violation of law in the States which they operate such as Texas and Florida for Progressive Insurance to refuse to honor its contractual obligations to provide and pay said minimum liability coverage when an automobile accident occurs and a claim is filed.

[maineboy1979]

It's not just Cigna. ALL of the insurance companies do this. They have to do it... if they didn't, they wouldn't make profits for their CEOs and shareholders. Their job is to take money from you, and then spend as little as possible of that money on your healthcare. That's how health insurance works, my friends.

Healthcare should not be a for-profit industry!!!

[Cylipso1180]

damn.. thats harsh

[AnnyaMoon]

Grrr and this goes on all day long. People have specific jobs in the health insurance companys to sit and find loopholes in thier policys in order to deny healthcare. Saving money for the companys is the bottom line. They get 6 firgure salarys to be evil. Some have came forth and admitted it.

[kjnm81]

a liver transplant..experimental?? WTF!!!

when i hear stories like this.. it makes me even more grateful i live in australia..

[bevco]

Yea, That's our health care system at work!

[ProgressiveMandate]

WE THE PEOPLE, DEMAND IMPEACHMENT BACK on the TABLE, ANY TABLE, but "BRING IT ON"

Impeach the God Dammed CRIMINALS!!!

Impeach the God Dammed CRIMINALS!!!

STOP FUNDING the IRAQ DISASTER!!!

STOP FUNDING the IRAQ DISASTER!!!

Enough with "Stay the Course"...enough with "New DIRECTION". Just STOP funding this nonsense and GOD DAMMIT, just DO IT!!!

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." - A Einstein

[anicaa]

we can't stop funding it, it's everywhere, anything we buy not only goes to the provider but goes to the government. there's nothing we can do.

[pongman]

I hope Cigna loses billions on this and not just a few million. The only way to stop an insurance company from doing this ever again is to truly hurt them where they hurt the most. I say the settlement should be at the very least twenty billion dollars. In addition the firing of the CEO of Cigna without any golden parachute. Certainly the CEO promotes this climate of deny, deny and deny.

[hypnofan35]

In china they hang people for that kind of stuff. I know, i got screwed by an insurance company myself. They do every possible thing to screw their clients including collusion with the legal system.

[CrucieFiction]

I'd like to see Geragos rip the guts out of CIGNA on this one. But until we demand universal healthcare, each of us face a possibility of being in the same dire situation as Nataline -- depending on a for-profit multi-billion dollar insurance company to provide whatever we may need to survive a serious health problem. Don't count on it!

[TheStoicAgnostic]

when you think about it, almost every significant problem in society is traced back to money

even though in reality it has no purpose

without money, there is no poverty

but the entire structure is too complex and defined to be reconsidered now

strap on your seat belts, you're in for a loooong ride

[quarterduce]

No, our problems are due to overpopulation.

[odetomy]

If we were underpopulated, it would be the same. Less people to buy insurance = more money to have to pay for premuiums and co-pays. The same kind of denials will still exist. Population isn't the problem. PROFIT is the problem!

[quarterduce]

If we weren't so overpopulated it wouldn't be such a problem to provide health care to EVERYONE. But it's not just health care. Every resource on Earth is LIMITED.

[robtran]

NO!

The person responsible for that decision MUST be prosecuted for manslaughter at the very least. It is high time that those who make life and death decisions in corporations realize they are culpable. It's the ONLY way we're going to see change!

[jdktheone]

how many lives must be taken before we relize that a new system in needed

[thedrax]

Exactly. What's it gonna take for people to wake up?...

[jdolce101]

Poor family. CIGNA should be found guilty and have to pay millions to this poor family. Its sad that even that won't bring this poor girl back.