Transplant Decision Too Late, Teen Dies

Insurer Initially Refused To Pay For Liver Transplant; Girl Dies After Procedure Approved

(CBS/AP)  A 17-year old died just hours after her health insurance company reversed its decision not to pay for a liver transplant that doctors said the girl needed.

Nataline Sarkisyan died Thursday night at about 6 p.m. at University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. She had been in a vegetative state for weeks, said her mother, Hilda.

"She passed away, and the insurance (company) is responsible for this," she said.

The family is planning to sue the insurance company, their attorney said Friday.

Attorney Mark Geragos said he also plans to ask the district attorney to press murder or manslaughter charges against CIGNA HealthCare for the death of Nataline Sarkisyan.

The insurer "maliciously killed her" because it did not want to bear the expense of her transplant and aftercare, Geragos said at a news conference outside his downtown Los Angeles office. He did not say when or in what court he would file the suit.

Nataline had been battling leukemia and received a bone marrow transplant from her brother. She developed a complication, however, that caused her liver to fail.

Doctors at UCLA determined she needed a transplant and sent a letter to CIGNA Healthcare on Dec. 11. The Philadelphia-based health insurance company denied payment for the transplant.

CIGNA stated her plan did not cover "experimental, investigational and unproven services," her doctors said, reports CBS News station KCBS-TV.

On Thursday, about 150 teenagers and nurses protested outside CIGNA's office in Glendale. As the protesters rallied, the company reversed its decision and said it would approve the transplant.

"This is an incredible turnaround generated by a massive outpouring around the country that proves that an engaged public can make a difference and achieve results," said Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the California Nurses Association and National Nurses Organizing Committee, one of the rally's organizers, reports KCBS.

Despite the reversal, CIGNA said in an e-mail statement before she died that there was a lack of medical evidence showing the procedure would work in Nataline's case.

In their letter, the UCLA doctors said patients in situations similar to Nataline's who undergo transplants have a six-month survival rate of about 65 percent.

Officials with CIGNA could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday night.

[incog-nito]

Health care in America is the greatest. Just make sure you don''t get seriously ill or involved an accident. Because if you do, your insurance company will find every possible excuse to delay, deny, or reduce your coverage. Then, they can choose to discontinue your coverage, even while you''re still requiring ongoing medical care. Or they can raise it so much that you can''t afford it and have to discontinue. And of course now that you are considered high risk or with a preexisting condition, insurance is now every expensive or impossible to get. The only way you might get coverage is through an employer, that is if you can still work, so you can forget about early retirement or self-employment. Of course you can apply for Medicare, but unless you''re old or very poor you probably can''t qualify. Then again Medicare is "socialism" anyway, and we Americans want the government out of the health care business, right? You can try declaring bankruptcy, but recent changes in the law make it harder to do so. So just suck it up America, you deserve the system you defend.

[rushman71]

Yep, that''s insurance coverage for ya. Can''t live without it. But the way things are going these days, you can''t even live with it. These companies are being run by crooks, out to steal your money.
My condolences go out to the family who have lost a beautiful young lady to this.

[luvny-2009]

Universal Heath care! I have many friends in Canada and they have lived there for years and love their health care.

[luvny-2009]

Cigna is mine...wish I could dump them now but can''t!

[nlm2383]

Her mother is right, they are to blame for her death. But you know they will take absolutely no responsibility. Even if they try to sue the company, they''ll still continue to say it was "experimental". So sad that she had to die so young... What do we pay insurance premiums for anyways? When you don''t have it, you need it and when you pay thousands of dollars for it, you never use it.

[nlm2383]

Everyone should see SiCKO by the way...That will open your eyes.

[counterfly]

Most insurance companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of Lucifer. CIGNA appears to be directly operated by him.

[inventagod]

As usual,
surgeons who studied for decades on how to save lives

are stymied by rubberstamping desk jockeys who drove to work in Chevy citations...

Jeezus, what is wrong with this picture???

[liberalme]

If I were that parent I would find out who made that fatal decision.
Many of the people in those companies have never had 1 day of medical training, nor have the ever stepped foot inside of a college.
I know for a fact Cigna hires them, as a friend of my daughter has been working for them for years, even goes to court for them and was hired right out of High School.
We pay a massive price for people like this to decide if we should live or die.
My deepest condolences to the family.

[excoachken]

Keep the criminal Insurance CPA''s out of the Operating Room!

[klifton2-2009]

Everything, and I mean everything, in America is beholden to large corporations who own the politicians that could influence an outcome to almost anything under the American sun. Unfortunately, corruption is so rampant in the political system from the WH to the two Houses that an average Joe or Jane is systematically violated in all aspects of their lives. Wake up! The lobbyists (read: bribery) of the large corporations, particularly the Insurance and Pharmaceutical industry will buy the politicians to block any legislations that would hamper their profits. America is no longer for the people and by the people. It is strictly owned by corporations, period. A politician will not get an endorsement from a given industry unless he or she is committed to play ball. It is getting to be truism that in America politics an honest politician, meaning one that cannot be bought but honestly works for the common folks, is only found in fiction and in grave yards all over the country. Such a politician DOES NOT EXIST and CANNOT EXIST, not in America anywhere.

[nolalou]

jackie0428, yes complications from leukemia caused her death, but if the liver transplant had been approved in time, her life might have been saved! It''s not karma when insurance companies look at the ''bottom line'' instead of peoples health!

We can disagree on rather or not universal health care is the best solution, but your kidding yourself if you don''t think the health insurance business in this country is in serious need of reform!

[johnny343sc]

I know someone thaat has CIGNA insurance and is stuck paying an $850 bill over what they WON''T cover- a pre-cancer treatment for their wife.

CIGNA sucks

;)

[hypnotoad72]

There are many frivolous lawsuits out there.

The lawsuit coming is anything but.

jackie0428 - stop rationalizing. People buy insurance to pay for the coverage so their lives can be saved and extended. What happened is negligence and greed at best; 2nd degree murder at worst. With your logic, we may as well disband insurance altogether and everybody can save their money. Middle men suck anyway.

[Syndicate]

We should ban health care insurance. Seriously. I think insurance has allowed cost to get out of hand. People no longer worry about the cost after all they pay their monthly rate and dammit they are going to use it. Doctors get to charge what ever they want because the insurance will pay it. How did all this work before their was insurance? If you didn''t have to have insurance to aprove the procedure you could just say do it I''ll pay for it later what ever the cost. The free market would bring cost down if it was allowed to work. How much would a doctor or a hospital charge if no one could afford them? Maybe two pigs and a goat.

[brianp55]

"She had been in a vegetative state for weeks, said her mother, Hilda. "

Sometimes, these insurers are not as cold and heartless as they are portrayed. Why would you want to transplant a liver into someone who is in a "vegetative" state???

[jncc1701]

Yes i understand *** happens but...

I worked with someone (a rabid Republican and Veteran) who was diagnosed with very aggressive breast cancer. In the middle of treatment her health insurance refuse to cover any more of her treatment - the doc indicated that she can appeal but she did not have the time as any cessation in treatment will result in her death before the appeals process is finalized. She spent every last $$ in her 401K and savings then sold her house, everything she had in order to qualify for Medicare (for some reason the VA did not want to help) her life was saved - thankfully.
And it pisses her off to no end that a "Democratic big government welfare program" saved her life :)

She still has Bush stickers on her car but will the first to tell you that health insurance in country does not work.

[pakaal]

jackie0428 wrote: "The leukemia is responsible for this death, not any company or person. When will people learn that shi*t happens? It will happen to you, me, and all of us at some time. It''s bad luck. It''s chance. It''s sad. It''s karma. It''s fate. Or all of the above."

Yeah, come on people! In fact, drop all your insurance, car, home, health, etc., stop listening to doctors or professionals of any kind. In the end your entire life is completely ruled by random chance, and there''s nothing anyone can do about it.

jackie0428, why didn''t you just tell us all to off ourselves right now and save ourselves the trouble of worrying about when it''ll happen?

[jncc1701]

sorry I meant Medicaid

[russ1985]

At the very least, the media black eye is going to sting for Cigna. There''s bound to be a lawsuit on this. Since when is a liver transplant experimental? All the more reason to explore a universal healthcare option. These people paid their premiums and when it counted, Cigna dropped the ball.

[pakaal]

brianp55 wrote: "Sometimes, these insurers are not as cold and heartless as they are portrayed. Why would you want to transplant a liver into someone who is in a "vegetative" state???"

I''ll take a stab at this: Because the state was caused by massive liver malfunction and she could have come out of it provided she had a new liver. Risky operations are just that - risky. The question is whether or not the $$ we all pay the health insurers should go to this sort of treatment. The insurers naturally err on the side of caution. And sometimes people die because of it.

[nyckate]

The problem for Americans is that health care is a business - they are a money making racket - the less they provide the more they make.

[hypnotoad72]

brianp55 - I wish I read that point before. If she was in a state where she''d envy a vegetable, why wasn''t anyone humane enough to give her a quick, painless death? Vicious criminals get painless deaths...

[android66]

In a world without doctors or insurance companies, this girl would have died of leukemia.

In a world without insurance companies, the girl also would have died if she were unable to afford the doctor''s fees. Yet I don''t see anyone blaming doctors. And what if the transplant failed--does the insurance company get its money back?

When you obtain insurance, the company isn''t required to pay for everything. What if you thought aroma therapy would heal you, despite no evidence that it works? Or what if you had a disease without a cure and you wanted to try some expensive, untested treatment? What if you were a 95 year-old greatgrandmother with other medical problems? Or what if your liver transplant was necessary because you damaged your own liver by drinking too much? Obviously, there are a lot of issues that can be involved.

The death of anyone so young is tragic, but the "grab-the-pitchforks-and-torches" responses are ignorant. Are any of you doctors? Do you know for sure if the insurance company violated any laws by denying coverage? Do any of us know all the facts in this case yet?

More importantly, how many of YOU would agree to increase your insurance premiums in order to cover unproven treatment for perfect strangers? I''m sure you would be glad that your insurance company denied coverage in such a situation.

Let''s not be so quick to pass judgment just because the media runs a sensationalistic headline.

[DocD--2008]

Sometimes, these insurers are not as cold and heartless as they are portrayed. Why would you want to transplant a liver into someone who is in a "vegetative" state???

Posted by brianp55

Ya ever think maybe she was in a vegatative state because of liver failure??? Hello.. is anyone home???

[flubberguts]

Our society is like the English society at the time Jonathan Swift wrote "A Modest Proposal." The rich are getting richer by essentially killing off the poor through neglect, and the politicians (Democrats and Republicans) are accessories to that crime.

The answer is not to make insurance illegal. The answer is to offer a universal health care system that forces all insurance companies to compete with it, thereby driving insurance costs down. Couple that with real regulation of the medical and pharmaceutical industries, and we might see some progress toward real health care in this country.

If politicians were more concerned with the average American citizen than they are with the richest among us, all the money that currently goes to corporate bailouts and tax cuts for the rich (literally at the expense of the middle class) would pay for things like medical research, education, health care for all citizens, and infrastructure improvements that would help all of us, not just the rich. Government by the rich, for the rich is plutocracy. Government by the corporations for the corporations is fascism. Either one can be used to define out current system of government, and both are a far cry from real democracy.

[ianlou]

"...Sometimes, these insurers are not as cold and heartless as they are portrayed. Why would you want to transplant a liver into someone who is in a "vegetative" state??? "
Posted by brianp55

I agree, a new liver may have, in the end, been a waste of resources. however, there was a time when health insurance companies would have been givin the benifit of the doubt on something like this. Those days are gone, Americans trust health insurance companies to do nothing more than provide as $little$ as possible for as much as $possible$ while fearing nothing but bad PR news stories.

Take any lawyer joke and replace "Lawyer" with "Health Insurer" and you''ll get the same reaction.

[cdfoxtrot]

I''d like the defenders of the present health care system to come on here and explain how the "socialized medicine" system that prevails everywhere else in the developed world would have failed this girl so badly. Horrible as it is, I hope that this tragic story will encourage people to support politicians who agitate to radically change our failing system.

[phaddadlaw]

jackie0428..... no one here can blame you for being uneducated, it seems that you are. However you do not have a law degree, and thus you are not properly educated. And in most states, the ruling is likely to say that you are wrong. The courts enforce and uphold state laws. These laws become laws by a judges rule, or laws created by legislation, or the people. Any way you slice it, Judges, Bills, Petitions, Laws, and Legislation exist because of you and I... THE PEOPLE. However, 1% percent of those people (such as yourself) fall into the catagory of BLASTING OUT AN UNEDUCATED OPINION on such a sensitive matter like this (no offense intended, and you are entitled to your opinion,... I''m just letting you know that your opinion is false and I wouldn''t tell anyone your thoughts on this one).

[phaddadlaw]

NOW, this is not likely to cause a slippery slope argument that jackie0428 has in mind; i.e. suing a gun manufacture for wrongful death -with the exception of the .38 Special- where I believe jackie0428 would agree with me on this one. A lawsuit like these are unwarranted.

However, given the facts of THIS SPECIFIC situation, if you read them all jackie0428, as the courts are going to, it is EXTREMELY intimate and an immense issue accross the country.

In conclusion, the family will be victorious either by settlement or trial. But I''ll bet anyone here lunch that this case doesn''t even make it to a courtroom and if it does by some penumbra of a chance, no company in their right mind would NEVER want to even see the light of day after leaving the courtroom with a JURY verdict against them.

BOTTOM LINE, jackie0428 is sadly mistaken(but to no fault of her own, he/she simply just doesn''t know).

But then again, this may end up being Contracts Law Issue such as the Ford/Firestone incident. Hopefully their attorney''s guide themselves accordingly and FIRST determine whether to sue within a Court of Law, or, a Court of Equity.

and then even again..... maybe i''m wrong.... (but i doubt it) lol...


Happy Festivas Everyone!!!

[fstop100]

This should be treated as a crime and those responsible should be tried for at least manslaughter if not murder.

[usbrit-2009]

Android66 - as an android, you obviously don''t need any medical treatment ever, because you''re a cold, heartless robot. We humans, on the other hand, do require help from the medical profession once in while and would like it to be affordable, and unbiassed when being administered.

[johnny343sc]

If you give healthcare to the Federal government''s supervision, they are bound to screw it up like everything else with mindless regulations and insane taxes that will only make us more broke...

;)

[runningralph]

If the girl wasn''t covered for this it''s not the insurance company''s fault. But even if she had no insurance at all, once the doctors decided she needed a transplant the doctors should have given it to her, and billed the parents who are ultimately responsible for their child''s medical care. I''m sure some smart lawyer will say it''s the taxpayer''s fault.

[pensacola88]

Managed Health Care collects your money and then decides how much of THEIR money they will spend to get you well, when you come for treatment. They negotiate lower rates with specialists to control expenses, and then control access to specialists. They do try to stay profitable and satisfy most needs, but they place theirself in a precarious position to make economics prevail. Without managed health care, it would be us, the patient and client who would be empowered to make decisions that balance economics against health. We always like to hear "yes" for answers about access and affordability to healthcare, but the reality is that there is a "Gray Area" where patients go to become broke, or die. Health Care is a limited resource when done for profit.

[phaddadlaw]

EXCUSE ME jackie, my posts were in rebut to you "pakaal"... not yours.... my mistake.

[phaddadlaw]

PAKAAL..... no one here can blame you for being uneducated, it seems that you are. However you do not have a law degree, and thus you are not properly educated. And in most states, the ruling is likely to say that you are wrong.

The courts enforce and uphold state laws. These laws become laws by a judges rule, or laws created by legislation, or the people. Any way you slice it, Judges, Bills, Petitions, Laws, and Legislation exist because of you and I... THE PEOPLE.

However, 1% percent of those people (such as yourself PAKAAL) fall into the catagory of BLASTING OUT AN UNEDUCATED OPINION on such a sensitive matter like this (no offense intended, and you are entitled to your opinion,... I''m just letting you know that your opinion is false and I wouldn''t tell anyone your thoughts on this one). -that''t free advice-

[georgew1956]

SAD, the CEO should have stepped in and approved the operation, Period. they would all have a Merry xmas then.

[staycalm]

Bad health insurance company, bad parents and bad doctors! No matter what my insurance company says, I would do whatever it took to save my child''s life and work out the money later. What kind of parents are these? They put a price tag on the value of their daughter''s life? And what about the doctors? I''ve never heard of a doctor refusing life-saving treatment and watching a young person die because of medical insurance. No, no, I think there is something missing in this story. Perhaps it was experimental after all and Cigna was not totally off base. What a senseless tragedy.

[flubberguts]

johnny343sc said, "If you give healthcare to the Federal government''''s supervision, they are bound to screw it up like everything else with mindless regulations and insane taxes that will only make us more broke..."

The only reason why government does not work is that we have people with the philosophy "government does not work" currently in office doing their best to prove that philosophy correct.

Universal health care works better than our system. The vast majority of industrialized countries that have universal health care offer far better care than our insurance company run system offers. With rare exceptions, the only people who get adequate care in our country are those who can afford it out-of-pocket (the rich).

[flubberguts]

staycalm said, "Bad health insurance company, bad parents and bad doctors! No matter what my insurance company says, I would do whatever it took to save my child''''s life and work out the money later. What kind of parents are these? They put a price tag on the value of their daughter''''s life?"

I am guessing that you have never used the current medical system for a major medical procedure. Doctors are now requiring the costs of surgeries to be paid for up front--before the procedure can take place. This is not a matter of bad parenting; it is a matter of parents who could not afford to pay the up front costs, greedy doctors who refused the procedure until they got their money, and a greedy insurance company that refused to pay for a procedure that would have worked had it been done in a timely fashion.

Don''t blame the parents. Blame the system that killed their daughter.

[phaddadlaw]

NOW, this is not likely to cause a slippery slope argument that PAKAAL has in mind; i.e. suing a gun manufacture for wrongful death -with the exception of the .38 Special- where I believe PAKAAL would agree with me on this one. A lawsuit like these are unwarranted.

However, given the facts of THIS SPECIFIC situation, if you read them all PAKAAL , as the courts are going to, it is EXTREMELY intimate and an immense issue accross the country.

In conclusion, the family will be victorious either by settlement or trial. But I''''ll bet anyone here lunch that this case doesn''''t even make it to a courtroom and if it does by some penumbra of a chance, no company in their right mind would NEVER want to even see the light of day after leaving the courtroom with a JURY verdict against them.

BOTTOM LINE, PAKAAL is sadly mistaken(but to no fault of her own, he/she simply just doesn''''t know).

But then again, this may end up being Contracts Law Issue such as the Ford/Firestone incident. Hopefully their attorney''''s guide themselves accordingly and FIRST determine whether to sue within a Court of Law, or, a Court of Equity.

and then even again..... maybe i''''m wrong.... (but i doubt it) lol...

and furthermore...........

[phaddadlaw]

LASTLY, anyone who makes this a Republican/Democrat or "Corporate America" debate... well, we will concede and say you win, now please leave the room so real minds may interact. thank you.

***IF IT WASN''T FOR CORPORATE AMERICA, YOU WOULD BE POSTING YOUR MINDLESS THOUGHTS ACROSS THE GLOBE WITH JUST A FEW CARELESS MISTAKES ON THAT FANCY SONY LAPTOP OF YOURS NOW WOULD YOU*** so go sit in the corner with your "corporate america" argument for 30 minutes and face the wall. your being punished for being ignorant.


Happy Festivas Everyone!!!

[barbaraf4]

They paid for a bone marrow transplant, but were unwilling to pay for a liver transplant. The only thing that makes sense is that the CIGNA group that has approval authority should roast in h*e*l*l.

[lemonskink]

The life of a vibrant 17- year- old girl was snuffed out on Thursday in Glendale, California. She wasn''t strangled, raped, shot, or stabbed. Yet, she as murdered. How? She was denied a liver transplant by Cigna Health Care. Only after protests, and just a few hours before she died did the company approve the procedure. This is America? The land of the free, land of opportunity, land of milk and honey. A day ago, Rudy Guiliani was rushed to hospital with a headache, and flu symptons. He didn''t have to wait. Guiliani''s mistress turned wife made the statement she was on the phone all night with the doctors and nurses. How many people couldn''t get care because of her "concerns?" Folks, think and think hard about all this. It could be you or a loved one next. America, the only nation who denies its very own health care. We''ll allow a government to spend a billion a week on killing, but nothing on living. We''ve allowed this young woman to be robbed of a life, of raising children, of painting a picture, or writing a book. We can stop this, WE.

[Krazcarl]

Greedy insurares ought to be taken out and have thier organs harvested thier corrupt and evil like our current administration why isn''t anything being done oh that''s right the fat lazy jacks in congress...

[incog-nito]

If you want any health care reform, you know which party to vote for in 2008.

[ladyephesus1]

CIGNA is sorry!!

[cosmicfluke]

PIGNA A BUSINESS OF NOT CARING

[robertkjjj]

If you have not signed your organ donor card, then you have no right to complain about this death. Stop being part of the problem, and be part of the solution. If everyone donated their organs after death, then livers would not be rare objects that have to be carefully distributed to only those people who had a high chance to survive the operation. It''s easy for you sit back in your comfy chair and scream "Cigna killed this girl". But, have YOU signed your donor card? I''ll bet you haven''t.