Re: Retired San Francisco firefighter dies from lung cancer after Blue Shield denies treatment claims
NoBody <[email protected]> Fri, 05 Jun 2026 07:10:13 -0400
| Newsgroups | alt.fan.rush-limbaugh,talk.politics.guns,alt.business.insurance |
|---|---|
| Organization | A noiseless patient Spider |
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
On Thu, 4 Jun 2026 12:53:17 -0000 (UTC), pothead <[email protected]> wrote: >On 2026-06-04, useapen <[email protected]> wrote: >> SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The retired San Francisco firefighter at the >> center of a bitter insurance fight has lost his battle against cancer. >> >> Ken Jones passed away Saturday, 14 months after being diagnosed with >> stage four lung cancer. >> >> PREVIOUS REPORT: City asked to intervene after SF firefighter's stage 4 >> lung cancer treatment denied by Blue Shield >> >> We first told you about Jones in January -- when the 17-year veteran and >> supporters asked the City Commission for help. >> >> The Fire Department's insurance carrier, Blue Shield, denied coverage >> for some of his recommended treatments. >> >> Ken Jones was 70 years old. >> >> RELATED: SF firefighters rally for retiree denied cancer treatment by >> Blue Shield as more come forward >> >> "After we got some publicity, thank you, a Blue Shield physician reached >> out to Ken's physician, and they worked out a different plan that Blue >> Shield would cover. It's still an incomplete plan," said Helen Horvath, >> Jones' wife when ABC7 Eyewitness News spoke to her in January, 2026. >> >> Since then, Jones' story has led to an investigation into other cases, >> with the city's mayor vowing to support firefighters. >> >> According to San Francisco's Health Service Board, about 5,000 city >> employees and retirees are insured by Blue Shield. Now, city leaders are >> asking anyone who has been denied cancer treatment to speak up. >> >> Tony Stefani with the Cancer Prevention Foundation said firefighters >> with a cancer diagnosis have a 14% higher chance of dying than other >> cancer patients in the general population. >> >> "Current statistics tell us that 65% of the men and women in our >> profession are going to contract some form of cancer in their lifetime. >> Some of them will be fatal," Stefani said. >> >> In a Statement Blue Shield said, in part: "For Medicare members, health >> plans must follow medical policy established by the Centers for Medicare >> and Medicaid Services (CMS)." >> >> https://abc7news.com/post/retired-san-francisco-firefighter-ken-jones-die >> s-lung-cancer-being-denied-treatment-blue-shield/19224406/ > >Things like this should never happen in the USA or any civilized country. >But yet they do. What's missing is what was denied and the reasons provided. The story sounds carefully crafted to omit this and is pushing an agenda. >Something needs to change.