Testimony of Robin Beaton
My name is Robin Beaton, and I am 59 years old. I was a registered Nurse for 30 years.
I worked in a hospital, had insurance, and was in good health. I retired from nursing, and started
a small business. I got an individual policy with Blue Cross and Blue Shield ("Blue Cross") in
December 2007.
In May 2008, I went to the dermatologist for acne. A word was written on my chart and
interpreted incorrectly as meaning pre-cancerous. Shortly thereafter, I was diagnosed with
Invasive HER-2 Genetic Breast Cancer, a very aggressive form of breast cancer. I was told I
needed a double mastectomy. When the surgeons scheduled my surgery I was pre-certified for
my two days hospitalization. The Friday before the Monday I was scheduled to have my double
mastectomy, Blue Cross red flagged my chart due to the dermatologist report. The dermatologist
called Blue Cross directly to report that I only had acne and please not hold up my coming
surgery. Blue cross called me to inform me that they were launching a 5 year medical
investigation into my medical History and that this would take approximately 3 months.
I was frantic. I did not know what to do or where to turn. I knew I could not pay for the
surgery myself Shortly thereafter I turned to my Congressman Joe Barton for help. Mr. Barton
and Christy Townsend worked tirelessly to help me.
Next, I found out that my insurance was completely canceled; this was devastating. I
had to completely refocus on what to do where to turn because my insurance canceled me.
Cancer is expensive and no one wanted to pay for it. This is America and we deserve good
Health Care.
Earlier in my life off and on I had a fast beating of my heart which was not a current
problem, just something that happened when I was upset. I truly did not even think about this
when I applied for insurance; I even offered to go take a physical they said no.
The sad thing is Blue Cross gladly took my high premiums and the first time I filed a
claim and was suspected of having cancer they searched high and low for a reason to cancel me.
There is a nurse who attends my church who works full time for Blue Cross and all she does is
read medical records looking for reasons to cancel people. After she heard what happened to me,
she told me how very sorry she was.
Blue Cross will do anything to get out of paying for cancer. Another sad fact is anyone
who has a catastrophic illness who is not part of a group stands a great chance of being left out in
the cold without insurance.
One of the main things I look forward to in my life is attending a cancer support group
every Monday and Tuesday. We meet others who have cancer and share our lives. Four of the
woman in my group had their insurance canceled because of cancer. The women in my group
frequently talk about once you have cancer you are considered uninsurable. This has been very
difficult to speak because I could be canceled again. I live with fear everyday of my insurance
company.
Continuing my story after Blue Cross canceled my policy I went everywhere looking for
help. I went to County Hospital where I was placed on a waiting list to get a Mastectomy.
Several times I went back to the County Hospital they would always say the same thing, "Why
are you here?" I answered, "I have cancer and need a mastectomy." The county hospital stated,
"Sorry we have misplaced your records." The process was unending trying to get help for cancer
I did every thing to get help. Everywhere you go takes time. No help was found until
Joe Barton after working a great long time got Blue Cross to reinstate my insurance. After being
diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in June 2008, I was placed back on the surgeons list to get
my Mastectomy. I finally received the surgery on October 2, 2008. My tumor grew 2.3 cm to 7
cm also; I had to have all my Lymph nodes removed due to waiting from June to October 2.
I am still undergoing chemotherapy every three weeks. Cancer is expensive and no one
wants to help. I pray with all my heart that no one has to go through the sheer agony that I have
endured for 1 year.
I did not deserve to have my insurance canceled. Blue Cross set out to get rid of me.
Blue Cross searched high and low until they found enough to get rid of me.
I pray that someone will listen to my story and help people like me who are powerless
against big insurance companies.
Thank You
Robin Beaton
June 11, 2009
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Blue Cross is Wellpoint.
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http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1671:energy-and-commerce-subcommittee-hearing-on-terminations-of-individual-health-policies-by-insurance-companies-&catid=133:subcommittee-on-oversight-and-investigations&Itemid=73And here, from the transcript which I just searched for every instance of her her name and related discussion, (
http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20090616/transcript_20090616_oi.pdf ), this is apparently how they deny she was covered by them:
Ms. Beaton, let me ask you, Blue Cross and Blue Shield came back to you after finding out you needed the surgery and said that they were taking your insurance and the date of rescission was dated back to the date of enactment of the insurance. Is that correct?
Ms. {Beaton.} I am kind of hard of hearing.
Mr. {Burgess.} Your rescission was effective on 12/07, which was the date that the insurance was initiated. Is that correct?
Ms. {Beaton.} Right. They gave me back all my premiums.
Mr. {Burgess.} Okay. That was going to be my question.
They refunded the--
Ms. {Beaton.} I never cashed the check because Mr. Barton told me never to cash it and I never did. They rescinded all my money back to the day that they said--in simple language, they wanted nothing to do with me. They gave me back every penny that I had ever given them and they considered never being insured by them.
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That's right, they attempted to refund all of her payments, ever, and therefore, in parallel bizarro insurance/greed world thinking, she wasn't covered by them.
Once upon a time she had another carrier, and the PR/lawyer reasoning goes that once Wellpoint/Blue Cross sent that check to her which she admitted they sent in this hearing, she was admitting she was covered by some other unnamed carrier. She did no such thing of course, but apparently it was enough for Reuters to snuff the story.
-----
Obama cited her to Congress:
Another woman from Texas was about to get a double mastectomy when her insurance company canceled her policy because she forgot to declare a case of acne. By the time she had her insurance reinstated, her breast cancer more than doubled in size. That is heart-breaking, it is wrong, and no one should be treated that way in the United States of America.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/us/politics/10obama.text.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all-----
How Robin Beaton Became Exhibit A in Obama Versus the Insurers
Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Robin Beaton found out in a phone call from a member of her cancer support group that President Barack Obama cited her insurance ordeal as a reason to overhaul the U.S. health-care system.
“I cried when I finally watched him talk about my case in his speech” to Congress, said Beaton, 59, of Waxahachie, Texas, who is battling breast cancer. She saw a rerun of Obama’s Sept. 9 speech to Congress on cable television.
“If he’s able to bring this fight back to what it’s really about, I’ll feel so honored, like my story made a difference,” said Beaton, who runs a booth at an antique mart. “Every day I live in fear of them canceling my insurance.”
Beaton said she had her health insurance canceled once before in 2008, days before she was scheduled to undergo a double mastectomy. “She forgot to declare a case of acne,” Obama said in his speech. “By the time she had her insurance case reinstated, her breast cancer more than doubled in size.”
“Pure and simple, I had pimples,” Beaton said in an interview yesterday, the morning after Obama discussed her case, without mentioning her name. “The hospital suddenly wanted a $30,000 deposit, and nobody on this earth has $30,000 unless you are really rich.”
...
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, the company that Beaton said dropped her health insurance, supports changing the health system so that people with pre-existing medical conditions are covered, as long as all Americans are required to carry health insurance coverage, spokeswoman Margaret Jarvis said. She declined to discuss Beaton’s case, citing privacy laws.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20603037&sid=a3rdVt807i4c---
Sure sounds rock solid that she was their policy holder to me. Looks like Obama thought so too.
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