Cigna's treatment of Dawn Smith

I find it extremely heartbreaking to hear the struggles of Dawn Smith to have Cigna cover needed tests for her brain tumor. This, I'm sure, echos the sentiments of many like my parents who have had to go through this for seemingly decades now. If you haven't heard the story, here is an excerpt:

"I have a brain tumor. Doctors are ready to help me. But CIGNA has been blocking me from getting testing and treatment for two years, while almost doubling my premiums.

Then, this week was the kicker. CIGNA's pharmacy called to say that the co-pay on the medicine that helps control my debilitating head pain is skyrocketing from $10 to $1,115. That's not a typo. They're making me pay one hundred times what I'm paying now, in addition to my $753/month premium.

I can't afford that. So when the pain comes, I won't have any defense. I'll spend hours in the fetal position, out of my mind with pain.

When my story went public a couple of weeks ago—with the help of over 100,000 MoveOn members—CIGNA said they would pay for a test I'd been asking for at Cleveland Clinic. It was a step in the right direction. But after two years of denials, and with a long course of treatment ahead of me, I knew better than to just take them at their word.

So I asked questions. But they wouldn't offer any explanation for why they denied my coverage for so long, or any assurance that they had changed their procedures so I wouldn't face the same unjust denials again. And I began to wonder if they were more interested in just sweeping my story under the rug than actually helping me."

Sign on to MoveOn's website to sign on to a letter that is going to Cigna's CEO, it might also be a good thing to forward to congress to ensure that whatever bill they pass would help solve Dawn's issues. It is unacceptable that we allow these companies to put our health in jeopardy in exchange for shareholder profits. Sphere: Related Content