A woman in Nashville, Tennessee, was hospitalized and in need of surgery after suffering multiple strokes. However, her medical insurance allegedly denied her coverage for the surgery. The company argued that she was a “low risk” for recurrent stroke events.
TikTok user babszszszsz, also known as Babs, shared the upsetting insurance response online. She often shares her thoughts online, some of them revolving around her condition and strokes. The clip attached above became her biggest to date, garnering 1.1 million views, 168,400 likes, and more than 7,700 comments.
The Tennessee woman started by saying that her insurance had declined any coverage for her procedure to close a “hole in her heart.” This hole, according to the Mayo Clinic, is called a patent foramen ovale. It is, in fact, a hole in the heart that never closed after birth and is often harmless. Some people, however, might suffer ischemic strokes as a resulting complication.
In Babs’ case, she has been having stroke events since May. She was hospitalized for a stroke event on August 15, and while at the hospital, she suffered another one. Astonishingly, the surgery to fix her patent foramen ovale, which costs around $75,000, was not to be covered by her insurance.
“Their reason for doing this is my age and the amount of bubbles on my echo,” the Tennessee woman said. “And they said I am a low risk for [recurrent] stroke events.”
Fortunately for Babs, she was able to raise enough funds to cover half of her surgery costs. She got the money through crowdfunding and private and public donations, and the hospital allowed her to schedule the surgery through their financial aid program.
Reactions
Many viewers bashed the insurance company for allegedly denying coverage for Babs’ procedure. One said, “Insurance is a scam.” Another one commented, “How is this not considered attempted murder?” A third one added, “Only in America. I [expletive] hate it here.”
Some users asked Babs to name the insurance company in question, with one writing, “GIRL… drop the name of ur insurance!” The Tennessee woman responded, “Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.”
In a follow-up, Babs revealed that the surgery was a success and that she had been released from the hospital.
