Health Insurance CEO Agrees to Cover ‘Every Last Penny’ of Grad Student’s Cancer Treatment After Twitter Back-and-Forth
- Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:43pm by
Madeleine Morgenstern
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After engaging the CEO of Aetna on Twitter, Arijit Guha got the health insurance company to agree to pay "every penny" of his cancer treatment after previously reaching his coverage limit. (Image source: poopstrong.org)
An Arizona graduate student who maxed out his health coverage battling advanced colon cancer has gotten the CEO of his health insurance company to agree to cover “every last penny” of his medical bills, the Arizona Republic reported.
Arijit Guha, who’s working on a doctorate at Arizona State University, returned from a trip to India last year feeling ill. One month later, the 30-year-old was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. According to the Republic, his medical bills from two surgeries, chemotherapy and other treatments earlier this year surpassed the $300,000 lifetime cap allowed by his Aetna student health insurance plan.
ABC News reported that although the Affordable Care Act eliminated such caps, the new requirements have not yet gone into effect for student plans.
Facing potential bankruptcy, Guha started a fundraising drive to help cover his costs through his website, poopstrong.org — a takeoff on Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong — and last week started engaging both Aetna and its CEO Mark Bertolini on Twitter.
“True or False?: I am in this situation because your company offers a crappy product,” Guha tweeted at one point.
“False,” Bertolini replied. “Why do you think the premium was so low? Do u look at your policy limits when u buy other insurance (auto)?”
Image source: Twitter
Image source: Twitter
The pair continued back and forth on the microblogging site until the next day, when Guha tweeted that Aetna “just agreed to cover the full extent of my bills. Every last penny. Thanks, @mtbert, for listening.”
“The system is broken, and I am committed to fixing it,” Bertolini said in one of his final tweets Friday evening. “I am glad we connected today and got this issue solved. I appreciate the dialogue no matter how pointed. I’ve got it and own it!”
According to ABC News, Guha had raised $120,000 in T-shirt sales through Poop Strong. Now that Aetna has agreed to cover his costs, Guha said he will donate all of the money he raised to cancer charities in Arizona.
“I am incredibly pleased and in shell shock and trying to figure out what just happened. It’s a huge relief,” Guha told ABC.
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suejenkins
Posted on August 3, 2012 at 5:30pmMud monkey? Not human? Foreign bastard? It’s good they die?
OMG. I’m embarrassed to consider myself a conservative based on the way some of you are talking.
Take your hatred out on the system. If it was you or your child dying, I am sure you would try anything you could if it meant the between life or death.
I always thought we we the ones who weren’t filled with hate. Guess I was wrong
Report Post »BlakFools
Posted on August 3, 2012 at 1:01pmWHY NOT SEND the MUD MONKEY HOME to INDIA !!!!!
HUMAN’S ARE DENIED TREATMENT and this MUD MONKEYS GETS HIS PAID—–
TIME FOR SOME CHANGES in this CESSPOOL !!!!!
Report Post »lulu229
Posted on August 3, 2012 at 10:23amHow many will now bombard Aetna to cover extra-contractual expenses and procedures? Let the onslaught begin..
Report Post »rabblechat
Posted on August 3, 2012 at 9:21amSo this supposedly “smart” man buys a policy with a $300,000.00 cap and then gets mad when he maxes it out? How is this anyone fault but his own?
Only thing broken is the “you owe me” mentality.
If he doesn’t like the coverage he is getting here he should take some of his Tshirt money and buy a one way ticket back to India. I’m sure he will get fabulous treatment there….
Arijit – Like I tell my 5 year old; you made a bad choice now you have to live with the consequences. Time to Man up bud…
Report Post »BigDogRex
Posted on August 3, 2012 at 8:00amGrad student’s mindset: I just spent $5,000 on a new car. Why the hell don’t I have a Mercedes???
Report Post »blazingaway
Posted on August 3, 2012 at 1:32amMark bertillon should fired and this grad student needs to learn to take responsibility for his decisions and grow up. Whatever he does in the future he should do for free as he expects from others
Report Post »Ed_Kel
Posted on August 3, 2012 at 7:56amSo it’s a decision now to get cancer? And convincing a health insurance CEO to cover his illness is now considered a handout? You’re an *******.
Report Post »Levinite
Posted on August 3, 2012 at 8:02amThe squeaky wheel gets the grease. Oddly enough, he’d raised enough money for his treatment and is not just going to give it away. I wonder if this genius executive knew Guha had $120k sitting around. When your premiums go up, thank Guha and Bertolini.
Report Post »Individualism
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 10:55pmUntil we can allow competition among insurance companies and allow the little guy to enter in and start his own, ACA, is what we got and it is better than the situation before.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 10:00pmThe government saviors of the health care system will show the private insurance companies how to deny claims,it’ll be epic because government screws up everything. Barry is working hard for single payer and that means everybody with the gold plated coverage union members only,will all be dumped onto the fantastic government health care when private companies are run out of business by the central planning communist pigs in government. The drones will feel the pain of government health care after the election and can look forward to rationing and denied claims in the millions.
Report Post »sWampy
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:59pmThe main question is why is this foreign bastard over here using up a slot that should be an Americans?
eifer
Posted on August 3, 2012 at 9:39amIndians are honestly some of the best immigrants you could ever ask for. They come here and get educated, then they get good paying jobs and raise families that have values very similar to any conservative. At this moment he was probably only able to afford a student plan, as a student… Students don‘t typically make very much money but that doesn’t necessarily mean he should die from cancer.
Report Post »FREEDOMoverFEAR
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:36pmScrew insurance if you have a good family stop paying your monthly insurance bill pool it in a CD or Government bond and just pay out of it as needed. If you have enough people, and your family isn’t riddled with health problems, you’ll come out ahead every time.
Report Post »txannie
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:21pm@nervous investor…and anyone else….My family has been with Aetna for more years than I care to think about. Way before there were limits, co-pays, etc. When the insur industry began changing the policies you had no choice. The premium went up and the benefits went down. If I had the money I spent on premiums for my family the at least 38 years that I know we have been with the company, we wouldn’t need insurance. We would be self-insured by having enough money to bargain face to face with the providers and get the price the insurance companies get. The “discounts” negotiated by the insur co is so far below what the dr’s, hosp’s, etc charge the patient it’s shameful. The private citizen shouldn’t be in the position of having to buy insurance from any entity to bargain a fair price. But, I do know this…ObamaCare will only make it worse.
Report Post »FREEDOMoverFEAR
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:30pm.Exactly Annie insurance is a gamble that most insured people loose. That’s why the house (insurance companies) always wins. The moral of the story is to save for a rainy day. Don’t depend on insurance companies save for your children save for yourself. Unfortunately people like this student don’t feel their decisions, such as not having proper insurance, deserve consequences. Life is scary sometimes people get cancer and die, and it‘s good they die because then they don’t spread weak genes to the next generation.
Report Post »txannie
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 10:44pm@freedomoverfear….my cancer wasn’t weak genes…it was overexposure to radiation in a gov job. Radiation mutates healthy to unhealthy. When you start deciding that cancer is because of weak genes, you have just crossed over to judgement without knowledge.
Report Post »objectivetruth
Posted on August 3, 2012 at 8:59am@freedomoverfear
Report Post »Yes all those marines and soldiers who fought for your freedom exposed to toxic chemicals from defoliants to munnitions.[WW2 marines exposed to and contracting Lymphatic Filarisis that further weakens their immune system]Coming home and then working in industrys that further edxposed them to other toxics.Yes it those bad seeds that shouldn’t be passed on.You are a nasty filthly nazi piece of sh((.Too bad its against the law to shoot you.Hell you aren’t even worthy of a bullet.You should have been the Miami Cannibals target.
txannie
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:12pmI am going to print this article out and when I reach my lifetime cap I can mail it to Aetna. What do you think the odds are that they will forget my lifetime cap and cover whatever I need for as long as I need it?
Report Post »trinklefinder
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:18pmDon‘t be jealous of someone else’s good fortune. go make your own.
Report Post »Calm Voice of Reason
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:21pmLifetime caps are going out the window as a result of the ACA.
Report Post »Verceofreason
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:35pmObamacare eliminates this problem – as the CEO says.
Report Post »He uses the correct term, ACA -affordable care act.
progressiveslayer
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:40pmVerceofidiocy Affordable care act HAHAHAHAHAHA you’re a fool.
Report Post »sWampy
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:58pmDo you realize how much rates will go up to remove those life time caps? Of course, not only will the rates skyrocket, they will list a crap load of treatments under a crap load of conditions that won’t be covered at all.
Report Post »txannie
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 10:41pm@trinklefinder….I’ve lived 11 years longer than the experts said I would. Can you call that luck?
Report Post »swamp_donkey
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 11:00pmthere are no more lifetime caps , maybe you should be a little better informed about the afa
Report Post »blazingaway
Posted on August 3, 2012 at 1:39amMoney grows on trees and is unlimited as will be healthcare in the future … I can’t wait for years aNd years of the best healthcare in the world delivered by the best doctors in a timely manner with no limits … I plan to live in the hospita, watching tv, reading, eating for free bad having every test in the world performed so that I will be healthy
Report Post »Fatheroftwo
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:11pmI think it’s awesome that the CEO stepped up and took care of this man!! No one expects to get cancer or any other of the myriad bad things out there when they sign-up for health insurance, just like no one expects to wreck their car when they buy car insurance. You also get what you pay for!!! On the other hand, the ACA is not going to fix a broken system that was and is broken by the over regulation of it!! When the government gets out of the way the private sector will take care of problems like this and drive cost down to boot!!!
Report Post »FREEDOMoverFEAR
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:24pmNo one expects to get cancer? No one expects to get in a car wreck? I feel sorry your children are being raised by such a naive man. I am also a father of two, however, I am not naive like you.
Report Post »Fatheroftwo
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 10:08pmFreedomoverfear: So what your saying is that YOU expect to get cancer and YOU expect to wreck you car??? I sure don’t want to eat the food you eat nor be in the same car as you drive and I pray very hard that your children are not with you when you wreck same car!!! BTW name calling just makes you smaller!!
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:03pmThis is a very good case that if consumers had a Savings Account towards healthcare, they would shop around. I remember years ago looking over a hospital stay for my wife, and the hospital charged over $400 a day for her room, $75 dollars for each tylanol she received, and there was the $20 per meal charge. Even though the insurance paid everything except the copay, this was outrageous. This is something “WE ALL CAN AGREE ON”. To put in the lefts signature arguement.
Report Post »FREEDOMoverFEAR
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:32pmA saving account for heath care. It’s called your own savings you degenerate.
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 10:36pmHey Dopey or Grumpy, whichever one you are. They way it works is you have a cap per year that rolls over each year you have a policy. If you are healthy, your account grows, through your insurance policy. Even when you do get sick, if you shop around and realize the money comes from your pool, you would be more inclined to look for bargains, or not get unnecessary tests. That does two things, it gets young people incentivized to get insurance early and it would create competition between doctors and hospitals to get your business. Look at the Lasik eye industry for an example. But when you don’t care whats being paid, it causes no competition or price controls for the medical industry. But let’s not talk about that, let’s just Socialize the entire system so everyone can be equal.
Report Post »objectivetruth
Posted on August 3, 2012 at 8:46amYou had the right and responibility to accurately check your wifes bill[if she couldn't]/When you found the outragous charges you should have brought them forward.This isn’t a joke folks,.the medical profession makes mistakes.They will also will pad other bills to make up for non pays.By paying out of line charges, both self pay and insurance, the base cost is raised.They assume its normal and expected.Its not.This isn’t about skipping out on bills or denying profit.Its about reasonable cost and the normal profit margins that should be associated with it.The 75 dollar tylenol is the cost for at least a case of product if not more.They have a right to make a profit from the single typenol.They don’t have the right to gouge, there is a difference.
Report Post »ThePostman
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:02pmIf insurance were outlawed, healthcare costs would immediately drop to numbers affordable to most people.
Government is the problem. Obamacare is just more of the problem.
Report Post »trinklefinder
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:24pmi agree. government has had their hand in healthcare for a long time now mucking it up (along with insurance companies). i dont get why we dont have a cash pay system and save the medical insurance for catastrophic/major medical conditions.
Report Post »kaydeebeau
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:26pmWhen I was a kid, there was only hospitalization, which covered expenses if you found yourself in a catestrorphic situtation needing an extended hospital stay. My brother, spent 2 weeks in the hospital (before my dad got a job that offered hospitalization) with pneumonia. My parents paid every dime of that bill. Used to be that people felt an obligation to pay their bills and felt a need to be responsibilty to pay their bills.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:59pmGovernment health insurance will make solyndra look like a walk in the park because when government gets into anything the cost always skyrockets and the service goes to ****.VA health care for all,medicare for all and just because we can‘t pay for it don’t let that bother you the central planners and the fed will simply print more money until it’s worthless that is,then you will see change you can believe in.
Our health care system will be just as good as Canada‘s and the UK’s two bastions of socialism,it‘ll be great 1 year wait for an mri long lines in the hospital and doctor’s office, that is if they’re are any left willing to work for nothing.Notice how you won’t feel the pain of Obama care until after the election,purely coincidental pay no attention to the timing,it’s irrelevant really.
Report Post »Verceofreason
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:36pmYada yada yawn
Report Post »Psychosis
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:56pmso, i see they fail to teach college student how to read
READ YOUR POLICY CONTRACTS BEFORE SIGNING THEM IDIOT
but, recognizing his ineptness to read, im glad he got his bills covered
too bad he had to learn the lesson that stupidity hurts the hard way, but perhaps he will have a long life to appreciate this lesson ………………but probably not
Report Post »kaydeebeau
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:56pmUh, so, now everyone can bully to get what they want? Why didn’t dude go to his home country for treatment and paymnet for his care?
Oh , yeah, they can’t even keep the lights on…
Report Post »Verceofreason
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:38pmHe from Arizona.
Report Post »Perhaps he was visiting relatives.
Right now, he lives an dis insured in the USA.
YOU can now go back up your tree.
ANd take some of that yummy chick-fil-a roadkill with ya!
rabblechat
Posted on August 3, 2012 at 9:25am@verce He goes to school in Arizona but he is from India.
Report Post »Mutiny
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:48pmI am pretty sure you know the lifetime limit when you sign up. If you dont like it, dont sign up. Is this guy even a citizen?
Report Post »Nervous Investor
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:59pmIt should not matter whether he is a citizen or not …. he seems to have been in the US as a student at a University and bought a student health insurance package ….. it DOES matter however that he paid a low premium as a student presumably because of his relatively young age and the total benefits cap. Aetna has just been conned / publicly brow beaten into submission ….. now EVERY holder of an Aetna policy whose claims have been rejected or limited need to attack Aetna publicly to get the same treatment.
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