Suzette and Emily: on the radio

Much has happened since my post, “Scoliosis, Miss North Carolina and Emily.” After writing it, I wanted to do more for Emily and her family by getting the word out beyond the confines of this blog. So, I made several media calls and, a few days later, Suzette and Emily were “live” on Raleigh’s radio waves, talking about United Healthcare and its repeated denial of the claims for Emily’s Boston Brace.

Before the scheduled appearance, Suzette and I made certain that our collective Facebook friends knew about it, and WPTF contacted UH. The station offered UH’s representative an opportunity to be on the phone during the show to comment, but the company declined, citing privacy issues related to HIPAA. Suzette volunteered to fax her permission, waiving HIPAA restrictions, but UH maintained they could not comment.

During the show, Suzette did most of the talking, and she rocked! In a calm, articulate voice, she explained the circumstances that had brought the family to this point. You can hear the entire interview here: http://www.wptf.com/goout.asp?u=http://billlumaye.blogspot.com/.

Afterwards, the UH rep did a 180 on the privacy issue. According to Suzette, he emailed WPTF some “thoughts” about Emily’s case, without obtaining consent from Suzette beforehand. Basically, it was a PR-laced regurgitation of UH’s position: that the brace was not eligible for insurance reimbursement because Suzette went to an out-of-network provider to obtain it. He also reiterated that UH had referred Suzette to two in-network providers (Suzette said they only referred her to one), but failed to acknowledge that these INPs were not capable of producing the custom-made Boston Brace that Emily’s orthopedist had prescribed.

Consequently, Suzette was “angry as a fire ant!” She sent an email to the UH rep, correcting his misinformation and berating him for his company’s response – or lack thereof – up until now. To date, she has not heard anything further.

On a lighter note…
I’m happy to report that Emily has gone back to school, stylin’ and profilin’ in her new wardrobe from Peebles. Katherine (Miss North Carolina, pictured right with Emily) joined the family at the company’s Lillington, N.C. store to watch Emily model her new rags, and even let Emily wear her crown (see below).

Peebles donated a $500 gift card to Emily so she could purchase clothing that would fit over her new Boston Brace. Having first-hand knowledge of that dilemma myself, I’m thrilled for her.

I’m hoping to get some additional media coverage for Suzette and Emily soon. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for this family, please let me know.