A Life-or-Death Insurance Denial

Main Topic: The podcast episode discusses a family's struggle with health insurance denial when their 65-year-old father, Ed Stratton, needed a liver transplant to save his life.

Key Points:

1. Ed Stratton was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2019 and underwent surgery and chemotherapy. However, the cancer spread to his liver, and he required a liver transplant to survive.
2. Ed's insurance company, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, denied his claim for the transplant, citing that the treatment was "investigational and not medically necessary."
3. Ed's medical team appealed the decision, but Anthem denied the appeal, stating that the clinical evidence available at the time did not support liver transplants for patients with Ed's diagnosis.
4. Ed's daughter, Erin, took matters into her own hands and dug into the studies her father's doctors were citing, as well as the insurance company's justification for the denial.
5. Erin worked with a company called Claimable, which helped her produce a public appeal to Anthem, making the case for why the insurance company should pay for her father's transplant.
6. After a tremendous amount of time and effort, Anthem overturned its denial, and Ed was able to receive the liver transplant.

Participants: