Her Spine Surgery Was Denied. Doctors Say It's All Too Common.

3 weeks ago

“There’s a batch of grey area decision-making successful spine surgery,” DiGiorgio said. “You could show a diligent presentation, an MRI, to 5 spine surgeons and get 10 different answers.”

Dr. Randall Dryer, an orthopedic surgeon astatine Central Texas Spine Institute who treated White but did not execute her surgery, said doctors often person to make a convincing lawsuit to security companies.

“The security companies garbage to judge nan truth that room for degenerative illness is effective. They will opportunity it’s because nan aesculapian lit doesn’t support it, but they return cherry-picked articles that support their case, and they thin to downplay different lit that would bespeak that surgical curen is effective,” Dryer said.

An Aetna spokesperson pointed NBC News to two published analyses that recovered nary clear benefits from spine room complete a nonsurgical intervention. But different studies person shown that spine room is superior to nonsurgical treatments, specified arsenic beingness therapy aliases injections, and reduces a patient’s disability.

White’s father, Wrath James White, is nan policyholder for her security plan. He said he was shocked to person a missive from Aetna saying their petition for sum had been denied.

A manus holds a telephone showing a video of Wrath James White

“I had ne'er had security cull a morganatic declare before, and my daughter’s symptom seemed astir arsenic morganatic arsenic you tin get,” he said.

When his girl was diagnosed, nan family tried little invasive approaches than room specified arsenic beingness therapy, steroid injections and anti-inflammatory pills. But it became clear to them — and to White’s doctors — that spine room was nan only action to alleviate her pain.

“I did everything I perchance could for 4 years to debar doing room connected her,” Dryer said. He noted successful a 2022 study that White was “miserable” and “I could importantly amended nan patient’s information pinch a elemental decompression and discectomy,” referring to surgical procedures to region compression connected her nerves.

If you are dealing pinch bills that look to beryllium retired of statement aliases a denial of coverage, attraction aliases repairs, whether for health, location aliases auto, please email america astatine Costofdenial@nbcuni.com.

A study from White’s surgeon successful April said she had “failed aggregate rounds of beingness therapy and symptom guidance and arsenic specified I consciousness she has reached a constituent for surgical intervention.”

White’s parents yet decided to group up a GoFundMe to raise money for nan surgery. In a matter of days, they received much than $33,000 successful donations — adjacent to nan magnitude they were quoted for White’s surgery, including infirmary fees, anesthesiology and doctor’s fees.

Wrath James White said he believes a batch of those donations were “small and silent protests.”