OTR Helps Secure Surgery for Ailing Woman!

Update: Moved by the efforts of the blog community, and Tampa Bay CBS affiliate News 10, Aetna has decided to pay for Caitlin's surgery, after all.

Readers of OTR and members of the Internet community, I call to your attention today the plight of a young woman facing a life-ending disease that her insurance company, Aetna, is refusing to cover.

Caitlin Jackson (pictured above) is a 19-year-old woman from Florida that is suffering from a rare brain disease called "Quiari Malformation." The disease, which will eventually rob her of all motor functions, requires immediate surgery. On the day of her scheduled surgery, Aetna failed to approve the operation in time, and the hospital was forced to reschedule it to July 21st. Now, Aetna is openly refusing to pay for the surgery, claiming Caitlin's benefits have run out.

This petition serves the purpose of drawing everyone's attention to this grave injustice, and hopefully, rallying enough support to change Aetna's mind.

Below, please find a letter written by Doug Imbruce, CEO and founder of CollegeOTR (and parent company theU.net), to Ron Williams, Aetna's CEO, asking him to more closely evaluate Caitlin's case. If Aetna refuses, OTR will boycott Aetna, in the hopes that other companies will follow suit and the insurance company will, at the very least, provide legally valid reasons for reversing their original decision.

Ron Williams
Chief Executive Officer
Aetna
via email (rwilliams@aetna.com)

Ron:

As the owner of a small business enrolled in a group health insurance policy under Aetna's supervision, I was severely disappointed to read about your company's recent decision to deny Caitlin Jackson's insurance claim. Reported on the web site of a Tampa Bay CBS affiliate WTSP (http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=84930&catid=8), Aetna denied Ms. Jackson coverage for urgent surgery related to a debilitating brain disorder, after providing an initial "green light" for Caitlin and her family delivered 15 minutes too late to proceed with the initially scheduled procedure.

This letter serves to notify Aetna that Big Picture Media. Inc. (operators of theU.net student advertising network, and theU.com & collegeOTR web sites), will withdraw its membership in the Aetna healthcare program, and rally the rest of the new media community to do the same, unless your office allows the public, and our attorney, to review the details of Caitlin's case and prepare an appeal honoring your company's initial decision to provide Ms. Jackson coverage for the surgery. We are further launching an online petition calling for the immediate reversal of this decision in the face of a nationwide boycott of Aetna's services (view the petition at http://www.collegeotr.com/).

In your 2007 annual report, you write, "Running our business in a manner that is consistent with our values has solidified our position as a respected leader and brand in our industry."

We can only hope this shareholder-directed rhetoric guides appropriate decision making for the Jackson family and your other customers.

Sincerely,

Doug Imbruce
doug@theU.net
Chief Executive Officer
theU.net

Please take some time to sign this petition by leaving a comment with your full name and location below. Then, spread the word about Caitlin's plight to everyone you can. This is our chance to make a difference, so let's make it count!