Widow Stuck With Bill After Insurer Approved Husband’s Treatment

Fanny Gonzalez’s husband died in May after a five-month battle with stomach cancer, and now she’s stuck with the bill, reports the Chicago Tribune’s Jon Yates. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois approved the treatment and then refused to pay, leaving Gonzalez with a $161,601 bill.

Blue Cross called the drug used “experimental” for her husband’s type of cancer. Now Gonzalez is working with the Cancer Treatment Centers of America for help with her debt.

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In 2006, trucker Kenny Whitey fell 18 feet from the roof of his truck and broke almost every bone in his face. His serious head trauma left him unable to walk or talk. He breathes and eats through a tube, and needs nursing care around the clock. But now the company handling his workers’ compensation is going bankrupt, reports Brandee A Thomas for the Gainesville, GA, Times, and the Whitey family does not know where to turn.

The insurance company has directed Whitey’s attorney to his former employer, but the employer has stated that the medical bills — $47,000 per month — would bankrupt the company. “Basically, this leaves [the family] in the cold,” said the attorney. “Their only recourse at this point for their immediate future is to look for help through public assistance programs.” Unfortunately, because Whitey receives a disability check and his wife works, they likely make too much to qualify for public aid but too little to pay for the care themselves.

Full Story Widow Stuck With Bill After Insurer Approved Husband’s Treatment.