Saskatchewan Blue Cross is going to cover the medical bills of a southeast Saskatchewan family after all.
Rebecca Fee, who started a GoFundMe campaign last week for her grandfather Louis Lamothe, said in an update that Saskatchewan Blue Cross had reversed its decision not to cover her grandfather’s claim.
“I have the best news in the world!” she said. “Blue Cross just called. They have reversed their decision to not cover my grandpa’s claim. I am guessing this is due to worldwide news coverage. Thank you all so much for your thoughts, prayers and donations, and for sharing our story.”
Fee’s grandfather suffered a stroke while vacationing in Arizona on Feb. 3. She believes their insurance was cancelled because he didn’t report his cholesterol medication had changed from 10 to 20 milligrams.
Fee said she wasn’t sure if he was aware that the increase had occurred. It left the family facing a medical flight for more than C$56,000, and significant medical bills from Arizona.
Fee said she has shut off the button that accepts donations on the GoFundMe page. The campaign had raised $29,413 with 366 donors.
“We are still waiting to receive confirmation in writing from Blue Cross. I’m shaking so hard with excitement that I can hardly type this message to you all.”
Fee noted her grandmother Arlene was with a friend in a pharmacy when they called to tell her the news.
“They were instantly bawling and screaming with joy and had to sit down,” said Fee.
Blue Cross is not covering any hotels, meals or fuel in Arizona or in Canada, so Fee said they would direct these funds to her grandmother for all of those expenses. They will also use funds collected to modify the Lamothe home in Halbrite to make it more accessible, and to modify their vehicle if needed.
Her grandfather will still be nearly two hours away in the hospital for at least a few months. He will be doing rehab for at least a year. Fee and her grandmother will still need to travel to see him and need to find accommodations, purchase meals and more.
“I need to look into home care for her, and extra help around her place while my grandpa is recovering. Please see prior message for the best update ever,” Fee said.
Her grandfather might also require a power mobility chair and they would use these funds to cover that expense. They will use them to help make them more comfortable in any way they can.
Fee said she has 54 pages from Blue Cross to review, fill out and get back to them, but she has it in writing that once the paperwork is done and she has his power of attorney paperwork they will be approved.
“We won! After multiple days and hundreds of hours on the phone, multiple news interviews, sleepless nights, multiple emails – we won! Please don’t ever let any insurance company walk all over you. Fight the fight, no matter how hard it is.”
