Fighting cellist wins cancer round with heartless US insurer

Zoe Keating, who took on Anthem Blue Cross in a media campaign after it refused to provide hospital treatment for her desperately sick husband, has won a stay of execution. ‘I also got a call from a women named Patricia at Anthem, who told me not to worry, my husbands hospital stay would be covered. I spoke to Patricia at length today. It’s a little hard for me to explain the reason they denied my husband’s hospital stay, because I found it hard to understand. But luckily I have an excellent memory and can type fast, so you can just read my transcription.’

Do read it. The language spoken by the insurers falls midway between George Orwell’s newspeak and Joseph Stalin’s sanitised encyclopedias. Amazing that an organisation designed to protect people in pain could wind up speaking in this sick way.

Zoe adds: ‘Hopefully our situation is resolved and I can go back to focusing on my husband and son. I post this in the hope that it will help other people (people who do not have 1 million twitter followers or who’s stories don’t get covered in the the press) get their denied health insurance claims reversed. What should you do? Keep meticulous notes. Be persistent. Make noise. Do not take no for an answer. Tell everyone. Why this all has to be so convoluted, I do not understand. It makes me livid to think of how many families suffer needlessly because of corporate bureaucracy and greed.’

Our positive thoughts and good wishes go out to Zoe and her family in this difficult time. Here’s how you can help.