Update: Insurer Responds to Clinton Township Family's Change.org Petition on Mom's Chemotherapy

Updated at 3:30 p.m.:

Total Health Care has responded to a Change.org petition urging a Clinton Township woman’s health insurance company to resume coverage for her chemotherapy treatments at University of Michigan Hospital. 

In a statement issued to Patch, Linda Alexander, chief clinical officer for Total Health Care, said the company has spoken with the providers involved in the situation and "they have no record of denied or delayed coverage by Total Health Care."

The full statement follows:

"Because this is a public venue, we are not able to discuss specifics regarding personal health information, as this would violate privacy rights.  We have spoken with providers involved in the situation who confirm that they have no record of denied or delayed care by Total Health Care.  Our process for issuing denials is to send written notification to the member and provider involved, along with a reason for the denial and their appeal rights. We want to emphasize that the care of our members is our top priority.

"At Total Health Care, we make every effort to coordinate and facilitate the best care available with our talented network of providers.  We have been a long-standing Managed Care Organization in the community, one of the oldest in metro-Detroit.  Our goal is to continue to deliver on our promise of being 'Totally There' for our members."

John Oberg, who says his mother, Karen, was told 12 hours before she was to receive chemotherapy treatment at University of Michigan Hospital, says the insurer's response is confusing. He posted on the Change.org site:

Our earlier report:

Some 35,000 people have signed a Change.org petition urging a Clinton Township woman’s health insurance company to resume coverage for her chemotherapy treatments at University of Michigan Hospital.

Karen Oberg was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer 9 months ago. Her treatments had been covered by the insurance company, Total Health Care, but she received notification last week – just 12 hours before she was scheduled to receive a chemotherapy treatment –  that the hospital where she had been receiving treatments for seven months was “out of network.”

Calls to Total Health Care have not been returned.

Oberg had reportedly been misdiagnosed at another hospital and her son, who started the petition, said all the family wants is for her to continue receiving treatment from doctors they know and trust.

“The warmth of the University of Michigan staff helping me through these difficult times is only outdone by my son's support for me,” Oberg said in a statement released by Change.org. “I've been watching the signatures climb up on Change.org and believe it will show Total Health Care that customers like myself cannot be pushed around at a time when we need their services the most."

The petition was launched Thursday night and collected more than 2,300 signatures overnight, making it the fastest growing petition on Change.org at the time, said Mark Anthony Dingbaum, communications manager for the online petition platform, which hs 45 million users in 196 counries.

Oberg’s son, John, who left his job to be his mother’s caretaker, said he started the petition after unsuccessfully lobbying the insurer to resume coverage..

“After spending hours on the phone trying to get help from Total Health Care, I wasn’t getting any assistance for how my mom can continue her coverage at the hospital we’ve been going to for months,” he said. “I started my petition on Change.org … out of this frustration ... I hope the company starts treating my mom as the person she is rather than another dollar sign or statistic."

Karen Oberg reportedly has only a few months to live.

“After being through so much together, my mom and I want these last few months toget to be as joyful as possible,” John Oberg wrote on the Change.org petition page. “Quality health care from doctors we know and trust is all we ask for.”

In an update, John Oberg said the pressure mounted by Change.org has led to “some promising discussions.”