This is Tracy Pierce. He is dying of cancer.

[bear425]

His health insurance provider won't provide the necessary care. How do we change their minds? READ HIS STORY and then CONTACT CARONDELET HEALTH to share your thoughts. Tell them MichaelMoore.com sent you.


Here's what I wrote:

I just read about Mr. Pierce's story on www.michaelmoore.com and was appalled to hear he is being refused life saving treatment. How can you say that treatment for him is not a medical necessity, when he will die without it? So much for the "culture of life" catch phrase that is bandied about so frequently these days. I implore you to review his case and make the only compassionate decision: provide Mr. Pierce with the life saving treatment he so desperately needs.

[SmokingJacket]

1. I read the article, but I still don't see how they can deny him care.

My father had kidney cancer. I'd have ripped someone's head off if he'd been denied treatment.

If this is how the insured are treated, what about the uninsured?

Well, DUers know all about that.

I'll be writing a letter.

[bear425]

4. I don't understand either. Here is a snip of the article

Saint Joseph Health Center is owned by Carondelet Health. On its Web site it says, "Our commitment to human dignity compels us to provide compassionate, quality health care for body, mind and spirit with a special concern for the poor. We are responsible stewards serving the needs of all people from conception to death."

Hmmm.

Thanks for writing a letter. Perhaps, it will help. :)

[Warpy]

5. This is why insurance companies have to get OUT of healthcare

because even had Hillarycare passed, those bastards would still be in the business of denying care to the sick in the name of PROFIT.

Remember, it's the one thing Freepers tell the truth about: the insurance companies are in it to TURN A PROFIT, not care for the sick.

[Catherine Vincent]

2. Hearing stuff like this really pisses me off.

So this guy has insurance but they won't pay for the treatment he needs to save his life? It's bad enough if you don't have insurance but this guy has it and it still doesn't help. What is wrong with this picture?

This is like "John Q ".

[maveric]

3. I work with MANY patients who were sent to us to die/inadequate insurance.

They have policies but surgeries, radiation and Chemo arent covered so they send them to us to keep them comfortable till they waste away in pain and die.
These poor people HAVE medical insurance and when they need it to save or prolong their lives the insurance carriers says "FU and die!"

[SmokingJacket]

9. That is so fucking nuts.

Seriously, I'm thinking of moving to a country with national healthcare, because this is MEDIEVAL.

On second thought... maybe I should stay here and fight for the people who can't move.

Argh, what a position. What a country. FUCK!

[Pirate Smile]

38. We need to fight. We just need a constructive way to do it.

I'm sure when Michael Moore's movie comes out this national disgrace will get a lot of attention.

We need a plan to capitalize on that attention and use it to push for health care for everyone so this sh#t doesn't happen anymore.

But that doesn't help this guy. :-(

[Daphne08]

21. Then why is my husband even paying hundreds of dollars

a month for our insurance? (Ours might not cover those procedures either. I don't know.)

I'm very sorry that this is happening to innocent people across our country. It just makes me weep. :cry:


Again I say, as I've been saying for the last few years...

I don't even recognize my country anymore!

[wildflower]

23. Do you work for a Hospice?

[maveric]

26. No, but we take Hospice patients. Sub-acute unit of a convalescent

hospital. I watch these poor and under-insured people die all the time.

[libertypirate]

6. When people don't know how they should be treated

they accept substandard treatment.

[bear425]

7. I'm not sure what you mean

He's actually being refused life saving treatment.

[noiretextatique]

8. yes, he is being refused live-saving treatment eom

[libertypirate]

40. When you don't know that you can fight

how do you know to fight?

[lavenderdiva]

10. this sounds like the plot from one of John Grisham's novels...

'The Rainmaker'-- except it is unfortunately, happening for real.

snip from cover of 'The Rainmaker':

John Grisham tells the story of a young man barely out of law school who finds himself taking on one of the most powerful, corrupt, and ruthless companies in America -- and exposing a complex, multibillion-dollar insurance scam. In hs final semester of law school Rudy Baylor is required to provide free legal advice to a group of senior citizens, and it is there that he meets his first "clients," Dot and Buddy Black. Their son, Donny Ray, is dying of leukemia, and their insurance company has flatly refused to pay for his medical treatments. While Rudy is at first skeptical, he soon realizes that the Blacks really have been shockingly mistreated by the huge company, and that he just may have stumbled upon one of the largest insurance frauds anyone's ever seen -- and one of the most lucrative and important cases in the history of civil litigation. The problem is, Rudy's flat broke, has no job, hasn't even passed the bar, and is about to go head-to-head with one of the best defense attorneys -- and powerful industries -- in America.

In the novel, Donny Ray dies because his insurance company kept refusing to pay for treatment, because his dying would be less expensive. They used the same reasoning as Carondelet Health is using with Mr. Pierce,
snip from article:
Flink asked Saint Joseph's trustees why it has rejected Pierce's claims. They issued a statement saying, "Health plans cannot cover every medical procedure and remain affordable for plan participants. The Carondelet Health medical plan is a comprehensive plan that provides coverage for many illnesses, procedures and medications. Experimental, investigational treatments are excluded with the plan."

This is a crying shame, especially when Mr. Pierce HAS insurance (or thought he had coverage). I have no insurance, as I, nor my husband, can afford the premiums. We know where we stand, were we to have a healthcare emergency: on our own. I hope Mr. Pierce obtains legal counsel and is able to fight this and win.

[bear425]

11. Thank you for your post. Looks like your last paragraph

would make a good letter to the hospital!

The link is in the subject post :)

[lavenderdiva]

14. here is the text of what I did write:

I am writing to you to express my extreme displeasure and disappointment in hearing about your handling of Mr. Tracy Pierce's case. This man deserves better from a company that has accepted his premium payments, allegedly for future care. Apparently, Mr Pierce's faith in the quid-pro-quo system was misplaced. His doctors have repeatedly appealed his case to your board to no avail. I believe his doctors to be best qualified to determine the course of his care.

You should review your farcical mission statement which states: "Our commitment to human dignity compels us to provide compassionate, quality health care for body, mind and spirit with a special concern for the poor. We are responsible stewards serving the needs of all people from conception to death."

Your actions have been deliberate in refusing care and treatment to Mr. Pierce. I plead with you to reconsider your decision and provide whatever is necessary to care for him and treat his condition, following his doctors' orders.

[bear425]

27. Beautiful letter. Thank you. n/t

[lavenderdiva]

42. thank you

and I hope all of our letters are able to change some minds and provide some action and treatment for Mr. Pierce... Thanks for sharing his story with us...

[graywarrior]

12. Bet they're still collecting their monthly premiums.

I despise insurance companies. Mine just refused to pay for my recent treatment. Hope they all burn in hell.

[earth mom]

15. I'm with you! Insurance companies are evil beyond measure. eom

[Sir Jeffrey]

13. I sent this...

"Please check your mission statement again and ask yourselves whether or not you are living up to your standards".

I figured I could have been a prick, but the guy reading these emails probably isn't on the hospital's board.

[Coexist]

16. done - how sad

[Alizaryn]

17. This article needs to be read on the floor of both the House

and Senate.

[RamboLiberal]

18. Personally I think we should flood the emails of Culture of Life

Repub reps with this story starting with Frist. This is the kind of story they should go nuts over, not Schiavo! Damn hypocrites! This guy has a chance to live. They didn't question costs over keeping Teri Schiavo alive!

Where's Frist to do a video diagnosis on this one?

Send this out to the prominient fundie church leaders. Ask them why they are not fighting for this man and others in this situation. If they fight for embryos that are going in to the garbage any way, why can't they fight for this man?

Send this out as well to Dems saying this is the reason we need to BATTLE for national health care and keep it out of the hands of the damn insurance companies!

Culture of Life my ass!

[retnavyliberal]

22. Ummmmm look at the picture. Do you really think they would care? n/t

[me b zola]

19. Appalling. Here's my letter

I was appalled to learn that you are refusing life saving treatment to Mr. Pierce. What if Mr. Pierce was your brother, your father or son? Would you still refuse treatment to save a buck?? You have entered into a contract with Mr. Pierce that you are now refusing to comply with your obligation.

I sincerely hope that you will reconsider before it is too late. And if you continue in your highly unethical/illegal denial of care, I hope you are criminaly charged with homocide.

In the name of all that is good, please give Mr. Pierce the treatment that he, and all other humans, deserve.

[Pirate Smile]

20. Who is the insurance company? Aren't these letters going to the employer

instead of the insurance company? Don't we need to contact the insurance company - and the media?

[bear425]

28. Mr Pierce's health insurance is provided by his wife's employer

Saint Joseph Health Center is where she works and it is owned by Carondelet Health. The media should be informed. Feel free to email this info to whomever can help. Thanks.

[Pirate Smile]

37. OK, I see the article states both the Hospital AND the insurance company

are refusing to pay for the treatment because "saying Pierce's care either is not a medical necessity or is experimental. This week, he was rejected again despite a 27-page appeal by his doctor."

It seems exactly like the movie "The Rainmaker".

[hippiegranny]

24. too bad he isn't a white female with brain damage

the fundy fruitflakes would all be very vocal on his behalf... culture of life, dontchaknow.

[FreedomAngel82]

25. How sad

I wrote to them. My grandfather has lung cancer so I know how it feels to have someone you love find out about that. I hope they can help him. :cry: Damn it if we had national health care it would help so many people. *sigh*

[LittleClarkie]

29. Michael used to do this kind of stuff on his tv show "The Awful Truth"

didn't he? I seem to remember him showing up in a health insurance office trying to get some guy help.

[GarKeeper]

30. Are treatments for kidney cancer experimental?

Just asking, not trying to be a cold jerk.

[bear425]

31. One wouldn't think so, right?

:shrug:

[Lars39]

32. From the American Cancer Society site:

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_2_4X_Treatment_for_kidney_cancer_22.asp?sitearea=

I wonder if this is the treatment the insurance company is refusing to cover:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Immunotherapy
Because chemotherapy for kidney cancer does not work very well, doctors are looking at a newer approach called immunotherapy. This is treatment that boosts the body’s own defense system to help fight off or destroy cancer cells.

There are several different kinds of immunotherapy used to treat renal cell cancer. The use of drugs called cytokines has become one of the standard treatments for kidney cancer that has spread. For some patients, cytokines can shrink the cancer to less than half its original size.

The side effects of immunotherapy can include tiredness, low blood pressure, fluid in the lungs, kidney damage, heart attacks, intestinal bleeding, high fever, and chills. These side effects can be severe and, rarely, fatal. For this reason, only doctors experienced in the use of cytokines should give this treatment to people with kidney cancer.

[GarKeeper]

34. Thanks

Those bastards don't want to pay.

We're all going to die but the fact they even won't help this man (even if was hopeless from the beginning) is pure EVIL!

[Nothing Without Hope]

33. Oh yeah, 'THE CULTURE OF LIFE IN ACTION" It works under cameras for

a vegetative white woman, but not for a living, speaking black man who needs expensive care from one of the GOP's corporate cronies. He actually HAS health insurance - it is beyond outrageous that they want him to die to save them some bucks.

This should be blasted everywhere. It is absolutely SICKENING and very revealing of what this country has come to.

THIS is one of far too many examples of the REAL "culture of life" policies of the GOP.

[Catrina]

35. I keep hearing stories like this

so my question is, what good is it to pay for healthcare when, if you really need it, you don't get it?

This is very sad, I'll bet if he was a Senator he would be treated.

I guess he doesn't qualify for Medicaid either, because he worked and isn't destitute enough to be elegible, although I doubt the destitute get treated either.

I read a report recently that said over 18,000 Americans die each year because they do no have health insurance. That's 6 times the number of people killed on 9/11 by terrorists, multiplied by every year it happens. Since 9/11 that makes nearly 70.000 people. Yet, there's no outrage.

Maybe if we called it 'domestic terrorism' it might get some attention.

I hope he gets the help he needs now that his case is getting attention, but the stress he must be under isn't helping him. This is barbaric, imo.

[Nothing Without Hope]

36. Yes, it is cruel, murderous and barbaric. And meanwhile, his cancer is

progressing and the hope that he can be saved is waning.

"Culture of Life" - that's the way we need to frame this. The conrast with what the neocons did with Terri Schiavo, with Bush taking an "emergency" flight to sign emergency legislation to save her life.

This is nauseating, and it must be publicised.

Hypocrisy hypocrisy Hypocrisy Hypocrisy Hypocrisy

[Tinoire]

39. Done.

Jeesus what a country.

[KT2000]

41. Hi tax dollars

have probably contributed to the resarch already done on the procedure he needs. Our system bilks the average guy for research and development but when it comes to getting help from the procedure - it is for the wealthy only.

[livinginphotographs]

43. This is the problem with private health insurance

summed up in one sentence: "Flink reported earlier this month that 2,000 local doctors are suing the metro's major insurance companies, alleging insurance companies are deciding patient care and not doctors. " (emphasis mine)

It's unfortunately not what you need, but about what you can pay for. That is NOT how medical care is supposed to be.

In related news: http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0510-22.htm

"William McGuire, of UnitedHealth Group, the nation's leading insurer, was the third-highest-paid CEO on the Forbes list. His pay of $124.8 million could cover the average health-insurance premiums of nearly 34,000 people."

:puke: