We’re All Human

In early April of this year, a class action complaint captioned Richard Cole v United Health Insurance Company was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The complaint alleges that:

Instead of acting solely in the interests of the participants and beneficiaries of its health insurance plans, upon information and belief, UHC denied coverage for [Proton Beam Radiation Therapy (“PBRT”)] to treat prostate cancer because, on average, PBRT is significantly more expensive than traditional Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (“IMRT”) or other treatments.

The case was assigned to Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. Earlier this week, Judge Scola recused himself. The substance of the recusal order should be read in full:

In early 2017, the Court was diagnosed with prostate cancer. In
determining the best course of treatment, the Court consulted with top medical experts throughout the country. All the experts opined that if I opted for radiation treatment, proton radiation was by far the wiser course of action. Although the Court opted for surgery, rather than radiation, those opinions still resonant.

Further, a very close friend of the Court was diagnosed with cancer in 2015. He opted to have proton radiation treatment at M.D. Anderson in Houston. His health care provider, United Healthcare, refused to pay for the treatment. Fortunately, he had the resources to pay $150,000 for the treatment and only upon threat of litigation did United Healthcare agree to reimburse him.

It is undisputed among legitimate medical experts that proton radiation therapy is not experimental and causes much less collateral damage than traditional radiation. To deny a patient this treatment, if it is available, is immoral and barbaric.

The Court’s opinions in this matter prevent it from deciding this case fairly and impartially.