Yes, that is what some kind hearted people are doing in the aftermath of Nataline Sarkysian’s unnecessary death.
I have watched around 45 seconds of Fox News in the past few years, cumulatively. And all 45 seconds were around 5 minutes ago (around 5:20PM EST) as I was flipping through the channels. I don’t know exactly what I expected to hear when I stopped to hear what “some show” was going to say with respect to Nataline’s tragic death at the hands of CIGNA’s callous and heinous acts of greed.
When I realized that I was, in fact, listening to the fine upstanding blackhearted people on Fox News Live (I don’t even know their names, but frankly it may be better off that way), I should have immediately continued to search for something worth watching.
Yet, like watching a train wreck – not because I want to but because I couldn’t turn my head, I heard what may have been one of the most stunning displays of a lack of compassion as well as a disgusting defending of CIGNA coupled with full on finger pointing and blame centered squarely at the Sarkysian family and their doctor.
At Christmas time, and right after the tragic and unnecessary death of a 17 year old, nonetheless.
”They should have had the surgery and litigated for reimbursement later on”
That was the comment that made me change the channel, get up and go get my computer. But it was just the cumulation of a 45 second flurry (at least what I caught, but since they were getting ready to break for commercial, I imagine this had been building to a crescendo) of hate and blame and callous lack of any emotion, empathy or even the slightest sense of decency.
”What makes this unconscionable is that the surgeon wasted 36 precious minutes after CIGNA faxed over the approval – 36 minutes that could have made a difference”
That was the first comment I heard, and I guess maybe I kept the channel on that station in disbelief of what I was hearing. Never mind the weeks, or even hours, that CIGNA delayed approval of a transplant that was most certainly needed. Never mind the fact that the Sarkisyan family most likely would have done whatever they could to help their daughter and never mind the precarious financial situation that they were already possibly in – let alone the one that CIGNA was putting them in.
”This is horrible precedent. There is no cause of action and think of how many other families would sue with this being a precedent. CIGNA shouldn’t settle – they should fight this”
That was a response to one of the commentators saying that this will settle because CIGNA doesn’t want to risk a jury trial and a guilty verdict. Because, at the end of the day, it is all about making sure that the insurance companies don’t admit responsibility or liability for their actions. It isn’t about people, or healthcare, or even common sense.
Just dollars and cents.
But don’t blame poor CIGNA here – after all, they finally succumbed to massive public pressure to approve something that would cost them lots of money to pay for. And they did it 36 minutes before Nataline died – certainly not CIGNA’s fault there either.
Merry fucking Christmas, CIGNA. May you all rot in hell.