Jeffrey Rusch, husband to renowned cellist Zoë Keating, has died after a long and difficult battle with cancer. Having initially been denied insurance for cancer treatment early on, he died Feb. 19.
Keating first posted the news to her blog, citing that on May 13 an MRI revelead several tumors in Rusch's brain, then discovered others in his lungs, liver and bones.
As is a major problem with filing for insurance, the couple did not receive compensation immediately, noting that the condition did not meet the criteria of necessity.
She wrote:
"Today I got a letter from Anthem Blue Cross regarding his hospital stay:
"'Coverage for the requested service is denied because the service does not meet the criteria for "medical necessity" under your description of benefits. To assist our Medical Director in making this decision, we have put a process in place to send all information about the service to a clinical reviewer with appropriate credentials. Based on their opinion, we have determined that coverage for the requested service is denied. Our Medical Reviewer Layma Jarjour MD has determined we cannot approve your hospital stay for cancer. We do not have enough facts to show that it was medically necessary.'
"Anthem is owned by WellPoint. Did you know Wellpoint CEO Joseph Swedish earned almost $17 million during his first year on the job? Now you know how they can afford to pay him."
An update added to the post detailed that the local CBS station KPIX picked up their story and a woman named Patricia at Anthem said that their medical expenses would be covered.
A most unfortunate outcome, we extend our condolences to Keating and her family.
For now, check out Keating below with visual projections by Rusch:
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