Too Little. Too Late.

$50,000.

That’s what Eric’s life was worth to UnitedHealth. That’s what they saved by delaying until delay became denial and denial became death. The cost of a 2025 Ford F-150. Let that sink in.

* * *

Eric Tennant needed histotripsy to destroy the tumor eating his liver. His doctor said February. UnitedHealthcare said no. They called it “not medically necessary.” The same company that dumps a million seniors for costing too much decided a 58-year-old West Virginia safety instructor didn’t deserve his shot at living.

After journalists started asking questions, UnitedHealth suddenly discovered Eric’s treatment was necessary after all. They approved it in May. They told the reporters before they told the family.

(Because nothing says “we care” like using a dying man’s approval as PR damage control.)

Too late.

Eric was hospitalized. The medication they gave him made histotripsy impossible. The window closed. The cancer spread.

September 17, he died in a hospice bed in his dining room, surrounded by family.

Welcome to American healthcare. Please hold.

His widow Becky knows the truth: “Any lawyer for the insurance will say, ‘Well, you don’t know it would have helped.’ No. You took that chance away from us.”

1 in 4 doctors say prior authorization has caused serious harm to their patients. 8% say it’s caused disability or death. No agency tracks how many Eric Tennants die while insurance companies run out the clock.

I survived brain cancer at 21. The paperwork almost finished what the tumor couldn’t. Eric fought cholangiocarcinoma for three years through chemo, radiation, biopsies. He survived all of it. He couldn’t survive UnitedHealthcare.

Becky held his hand as his heart stopped. She told him he was the best husband, the best dad. He smiled. Then he was gone.

“He wasn’t afraid to die, but he didn’t want to die.”

Neither do the rest of us stuck in this system where insurers profit from our deaths.

Read this article. Own it. Share it. Grieve with it.

NONE OF THIS IS OK.

RIP Eric Tennant (1966-2024). May your family and loved ones find peace and may your story spark the change that could have saved you. 🙏🏻 ❤️

SOURCE ➡️ https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/prior-authorization-denials-cancer-treatment-west-virginia-death/