Cost of Denial
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A team of NBC News reporters dug into complex insurance systems and what's behind many denials.
What they found, through conversations with policy holders, communications with insurers and reviews of records, was startling.
NBC News exposes what’s behind insurance denials — and helps some people win hard-fought coverage. →
Jamie Kelter Davis for NBC News
Jamie Kelter Davis for NBC News
A liver transplant might save him — if he can get the drug he needs to stay alive long enough →
A health insurance dispute is preventing a North Carolina man from getting a cancer drug his doctors say is necessary.
Juan Diego Reyes for NBC News
Juan Diego Reyes for NBC News
Insurance denied an $800,000 seizure drug — twice. A state-run panel helped a teen get it. →
A little-known provision in the Affordable Care Act allows patients to ask state-run panels to review decisions made by health insurance providers.
With prior authorizations and insurance denials, some patients run out of time →
Health insurers issue millions of denials every year, leaving many patients stuck in a convoluted appeals process, with little hope of meaningful policy change ahead.
Her spine surgery was denied. Doctors say it's all too common. →
Insurance denied 18-year-old Nala White’s surgery for degenerative disc disease. After NBC News reached out, it was approved the next day.
Harmon Li for NBC News
Harmon Li for NBC News
📩 Email us at CostofDenial@nbcuni.com
if you are dealing with a denial
of coverage or health, home or auto bills
that seem to be out of line.
Patients hit dead ends with insurance 'ghost networks.' Now, some are suing. →
A recent lawsuit is challenging one company, EmblemHealth, over its so-called ghost network of mental health providers.
Hospitals and insurers are fighting over money, leaving patients in the lurch →
The disputes stem from rising health care costs, with insurers and hospitals fighting more aggressively over the price of care.
A college student fights an insurance denial to get a prosthetic foot before graduation →
Experts say it’s not uncommon for patients who need prostheses to be denied by insurance. “It’s not a matter of if, but when,” one advocate said.
Danielle Villasana for NBC News
Danielle Villasana for NBC News
Taking on Goliath: Brain surgeon's clash with UnitedHealthcare shows insurer's hardball tactics →
A massive hack of the insurance giant set off a chain of events that has left some doctors’ practices on financial life support.
Zach Gross for NBC News
Zach Gross for NBC News
A cutting-edge surgery could fix a 12-year-old's scoliosis. Her insurance says it's too new to cover. →
Surgeons who perform a type of spinal surgery for scoliosis, which the FDA approved in 2019, say insurance companies aren’t aligning their policies with the latest medical research.
Jimena Peck for NBC News
Jimena Peck for NBC News
She needed a pricey drug to prevent MS relapse. Her insurer's 'fail first' strategy left her struggling for months. →
An insurance company repeatedly denied a Wisconsin woman coverage for a medication her doctor prescribed to treat her multiple sclerosis, demanding she try a cheaper drug first.
This toddler's medical expenses can hit $3,000 a month. Her family says nearly every insurance claim is a battle. →
Basic safety equipment should be “automatic,” doctors say, for a little girl born with a rare neurologic disorder. Insurance companies haven’t always agreed.
Jamie Kelter Davis for NBC News
Jamie Kelter Davis for NBC News
Their daughter needed reconstructive surgery. They got an insurance fight. →
Only a handful of doctors in the U.S. perform a complex reconstruction procedure for children born with a rare condition called microtia that hinders development of the ear.
Their son was 'too unstable to function outside of hospital.' Insurance denied his mental health treatment anyway. →
After a suicide attempt, doctors told the Benz-Bushlings their son needed residential mental health treatment. Their insurance said that level of care was “not medically necessary.”
'Guilty until proven innocent': Inside the fight between doctors and insurance companies over 'downcoding' →
Doctors say insurers are automatically downgrading their claims and paying less. Insurers say it’s their duty to prevent overbilling.
Daniel Lozada for NBC News
Daniel Lozada for NBC News
Parents sue over son's asthma death days after inhaler price soared without warning →
Cole Schmidtknecht, 22, had insurance but couldn’t afford to refill his asthma inhaler after the cost jumped from $70 to more than $500.
Insurance fight weighs on this 'Made in the USA' furniture business →
Martin Goebel thinks his St. Louis company could benefit from Trump’s tariffs — if he weren’t already in a costly legal battle with his insurer.
Texas surgeon says UnitedHealthcare dispute may force her into bankruptcy →
Dr. Elisabeth Potter says bankruptcy could loom if the insurance giant doesn't accept her clinic.
Why a Michigan man waited over a month in the hospital for stroke rehab →
His doctors recommended that he start an intensive rehab program within days of his stroke.
This influencer’s videos show an active lifestyle. Offline, she’s fighting for treatment for a painful condition. →
Aurora McCausland has lipedema, a painful disorder that causes a buildup of fat in the lower body. Her doctor said surgery could fix it, but her insurance has denied coverage.
'Ghost networks' are harming patients, but attempts to eliminate them have fallen short →
Insurance companies often refer patients to lists of providers who are unreachable or out of network or don’t accept new patients.
AI is helping patients fight insurance company denials →
Stephanie Nixdorf's insurance company repeatedly declined to cover a drug to treat her arthritis. That changed after she sent an appeal letter crafted with help from AI.
