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‘Not accountable to anyone’: As insurers issue denials, some patients run out of options
HARRISON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, JUN 16 – Health insurers increasingly deny doctor-recommended treatments via prior authorization to control costs, with millions of denials annually, experts say, affecting patients with serious illnesses.
- Eric Tennant, a West Virginia state employee and safety instructor, was diagnosed in 2023 with a rare bile duct cancer that has spread to his bones.
- Despite his oncologist approving histotripsy as a treatment option in early 2023, his insurer repeatedly denied coverage, deeming the procedure not medically necessary.
- The Tennant family appealed four times amid months of delays and eventually saw a rare reversal, but by late May 2025 Eric was no longer a viable candidate due to declining health.
- Rebecca Tennant characterized the situation as chaotic, expressing frustration that insurers face no real accountability. She stated that despite them being aware of her husband's advanced cancer diagnosis, they seem indifferent to his survival.
- This case highlights widespread challenges within the healthcare system, where insurance companies deny coverage on a massive scale each year, relying on an outdated framework that places heavy burdens on seriously ill patients, even as federal and state initiatives strive to enact reforms.
40 Articles
40 Articles
'Not Accountable To Anyone'
Early this year, Eric Tennant’s oncologist agreed he was a good candidate for a new, FDA-approved treatment since the largest tumor in his body is in his liver. But that’s when his family began fighting another adversary: their health insurer, which decided the treatment was “not medically necessary,” according to insurance paperwork.
'Not accountable to anyone': Patients outraged as there's been no reform following CEO killing
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — By the time Eric Tennant was diagnosed in 2023 with a rare cancer of the bile ducts, the disease had spread to his bones. He weighed 97 pounds and wasn’t expected to survive a year with stage 4 cancer.Two years later, grueling rounds of chemotherapy have slowed the cancer’s progress, even as it has continued to spread. But chemotherapy has also ravaged Tennant’s body and his quality of life.Recently, however, the 58-year-old …
News Medical
‘Not accountable to anyone’: As insurers issue denials, some patients run out of options
By the time Eric Tennant was diagnosed in 2023 with a rare cancer of the bile ducts, the disease had spread to his bones. He weighed 97 pounds and wasn't expected to survive a year with stage 4 cancer.
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