Insurance Denies Life-Saving CAR-T Treatment, Leaving Cancer Patient Desperate

Health insurers across the country, including Priority Health in Michigan, are flouting state laws that require coverage for critical medical care, according to an investigation by ProPublica. Despite laws mandating coverage for expensive treatments like CAR-T cell therapy, insurers are finding ways to deny coverage, often citing high costs. Thinly staffed state agencies that oversee insurers typically don't investigate unless patients file complaints, allowing insurers to get away with violating the law. Priority Health executives, for example, argued that CAR-T therapy was a gene therapy, not a drug, and excluded it from coverage. Patients like Forrest VanPatten, who was denied CAR-T therapy for his lymphoma, are left to fight for their lives while insurers prioritize cost savings over patient needs.