Man dies after insurance battle for double-lung transplant goes viral
By KABC News Staff
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LOS ANGELES, California (KABC) — A double-lung transplant patient has died after his battle for coverage from his health insurance company went viral online.
Deron Wells died last week, just days after being placed on the list for the transplant.
Family and friends say he wanted to share his story and his fight for insurance coverage in hopes of saving others facing a similar battle.
“In his death, as unfortunate as it is, there is hope that things can change and that next patient will get that care in time so that their 11-year-old son doesn’t grow up without a daddy,” said Scott Kern, Wells’ friend.
Wells leaves behind a wife and three children. He will be laid to rest on Saturday.
Wells’ story initially went viral when he and his wife said Cigna had approved procedures that would allow him to be airlifted to Illinois, and they assumed that meant approval for the transplant would follow.
But as they were preparing to leave UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center, Cigna denied coverage for the transplant since it’s not a standard treatment for lung cancer, and the insurance company doesn’t cover clinical trials.
However, Wells’ appeal was eventually approved.
Previously, Wells was placed on the list for transplant and got a call that he had a donor, but his health took a turn, and doctors weren’t able to proceed with the transplant.
The 59-year-old had largely been sedated since he was flown from the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center to Chicago to take part in a lung transplant clinical study at Northwestern Medicine for stage 4 lung cancer.
His critical condition made him a priority on the transplant list.
A GoFundMe that was initially set up to help Wells’ family with medical bills is now dedicated to supporting his family.
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