An Insurance Company Denied a Life-Saving Treatment. A Judge Just Called It An "Immoral" Decision.
( The time for Medicare for All is now. )
May 1, 2019
In a stunning court filing, U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. made it very clear how he felt about United Healthcare.
Abigail Weinberg
When a personal injury attorney had to pay $85,000 out of pocket for a life-saving prostate cancer treatment, he filed a class-action lawsuit against his insurer, United Healthcare. On Monday, the judge assigned to hear the case recused himself: not only had he been recommended the same treatment for his own prostate cancer, but a friend of his had paid $150,000 for the treatment when United Healthcare denied him coverage.
Proton beam radiation therapy has been an accepted cancer treatment method since the 1980s, according to the Washington Post, but United Healthcare denied the treatment to Miami-based attorney Richard Cole on the grounds that it was “experimental,” Cole said. Although Cole was able to afford his medical care, he filed the lawsuit on behalf of the potentially thousands of others who had been denied treatment as well.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. recused himself from the case because he felt that his personal experiences with prostate cancer prevented him from viewing the situation impartially. He wrote in his order of recusal that although he opted for surgery rather than radiation therapy, medical experts’ positive opinions toward radiation still resonated with him. (Cole’s case has been reassigned to another judge.)
Two other judges had previously recused themselves, saying they knew Cole too well to judge his case fairly.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/05/united-healthcare-immoral-barbaric/
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