Letter: The inhumanity of health insurance: A call for change

Health insurance companies standing between doctors and their patients is a crisis that demands immediate attention and action. My family is currently experiencing this nightmare firsthand with our insurance company, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah, which is denying coverage for a life-saving cancer drug, Perjeta (pertuzumab), for my wife’s breast cancer treatment at Huntsman Cancer Institute.

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Perjeta is fully FDA-approved for this exact condition and protocol. It has been prescribed by our licensed oncologist, a specialist in breast medical oncology. This treatment follows the clinical standard of care and every guideline set by respected organizations like the NCCN, ASCO, and NICE. Despite this, our insurance company is denying coverage, claiming the drug is “investigational” with unknown benefits. This is in direct contradiction to the clinical trials they cite, the FDA approval, and the global consensus of experts.

This absurd fight is more than a bureaucratic inconvenience; it’s a matter of life and death. The cost of Perjeta could easily exceed $160,000 over the next six months if we have to pay out-of-pocket. How does one fight an insurance company that refuses to see reality as it is? That dismisses and disregards the standard of care? That discounts a doctor’s prescription and the industry’s comprehensive care guidelines? The current system leaves patients stranded in a health care limbo, unable to access the treatments they desperately need.

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This is not just our story; it’s the story of many Utahns who find themselves battling faceless insurance companies instead of focusing on recovery. The system needs to change. We need universal health care and we need it soon. The longer we wait, the more American health will decline under this unjust, unfair, and inhumane system.

Bryce Haymond, Lehi

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