Cancer Patient Denied Hospital Care

[somarco]

For almost three decades, Barbara Quarrell cared for patients as a nurse in Las Cruces, New Mexico, working for many years at Memorial Medical Center, a nonprofit community hospital owned by the city and the county.

So when she received a devastating cancer diagnosis in 2022, she headed to Memorial for treatment. “That’s my hospital,” she told NBC News. “My people are there.”

Memorial is now operated as a for-profit facility by Lifepoint Health, a hospital chain backed by private equity, and it had other plans for her, Quarrell said.

When her doctor called to schedule chemotherapy, the facility asked about her health insurance. She was covered by True Health New Mexico, a marketplace plan under the Affordable Care Act for which she paid $800 a month.

No go, Memorial said, according to her doctor’s contemporaneous notes, which Quarrell provided to NBC News. Quarrell and her husband quit their jobs and relocated to Albuquerque, more than 220 miles north, where she received treatment at a facility that took her insurance.

Cancer patients say this hospital denied them care

New Mexico's Memorial Medical Center says it doesn't turn away patients. Thirteen cancer patients said they met with denials of care or demands for up-front payment.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Al3x Lee]

private equity

The true cancer

 

[yankee466]

And....assuming like most places in the country, she had multiple ACA carriers to choose from...she decided to pick one that did not work with her closest hospital.

Her fault or the systems fault?

When I sell ACA plans....first question is always which hospital
network is most important to you? If they say they don't care and want the cheapest plan out there, they get what they pay for.

 

[sshafran]

Should have checked the network before buying. I can almost guarantee that there were alternatives that did have that hospital in network.

But if not, we should thank Barack Hussein Obama, since this is ACA.

 

[sshafran]

For almost three decades, Barbara Quarrell cared for patients as a nurse in Las Cruces, New Mexico, working for many years at Memorial Medical Center, a nonprofit community hospital owned by the city and the county.

So when she received a devastating cancer diagnosis in 2022, she headed to Memorial for treatment. “That’s my hospital,” she told NBC News. “My people are there.”

Memorial is now operated as a for-profit facility by Lifepoint Health, a hospital chain backed by private equity, and it had other plans for her, Quarrell said.

When her doctor called to schedule chemotherapy, the facility asked about her health insurance. She was covered by True Health New Mexico, a marketplace plan under the Affordable Care Act for which she paid $800 a month.

No go, Memorial said, according to her doctor’s contemporaneous notes, which Quarrell provided to NBC News. Quarrell and her husband quit their jobs and relocated to Albuquerque, more than 220 miles north, where she received treatment at a facility that took her insurance.

Cancer patients say this hospital denied them care

New Mexico's Memorial Medical Center says it doesn't turn away patients. Thirteen cancer patients said they met with denials of care or demands for up-front payment.

www.nbcnews.com

One thing I don't understand is she worked for the hospital as a nurse, got an ACA plan, got cancer, couldn't go to the hospital, both she and husband quit jobs and move.

Did the hospital not have an EGHP? Why is she even on ACA?

Doesn't add up. She shouldn't have even been on an ACA plan.

 

[LostDollar]

"working for many years" has a past tense flavor to it. She quite likely was not still working at the hospital when she was diagnosed with the cancer.

 

[LostDollar]

Hospital refuses to treat CANCER patients unless they pay up front

Cancer patients in New Mexico are among the growing number of sick people across the country being asked to fork over thousands of dollars for treatments they hadn't yet received.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[sshafran]

"working for many years" has a past tense flavor to it. She quite likely was not still working at the hospital when she was diagnosed with the cancer.

Probably. But on initial read it could have been clearer.