LA Daily News - Insurer denial revives argument over health care access

LA Daily News - Insurer denial revives argument over health care access

Insurer denial revives argument over health care access
By Susan Abram, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 01/06/2008 12:11:05 AM PST


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The case of Nataline Sarkisyan of Northridge - who died last month after her insurer denied, then agreed to, a liver transplant hours before her death - continues to highlight the national controversy about insurance and medical care and what, if anything, can be changed.

While overall complaints against some California insurance companies about everything from access to care to other services have declined in the past two years, complaints about more specific procedures - like Nataline's - have increased, according to a Daily News review of state data.

And patients asking for independent medical reviews - the official process of seeking a second opinion - have jumped 13percent in that time, according to the data.

It remains to be seen what kind of impact those complaints will have on the system, but Nataline's death has reignited a heated public debate about the effectiveness of the nation's health care insurance process.

"Just a few weeks ago in America, Nataline Sarkisyan, a 17-year-old girl, ... needed a liver transplant, and (her) insurance company decided they wouldn't pay for her liver transplant operation," Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said last week after placing second in the Iowa Caucus.