SC Man Denied Coverage for Breast Cancer...Because of His Penis ...

Raymond Johnson, a 26-year-old tile layer, has beaten the odds. But not in a good way. The South Carolina man is just one of 2,000 men to be diagnosed with breast cancer every year, according to CDC statistics ? or, about 1 percent of all cases per year.

Johnson, however, doesn?t have health insurance through his job (doesn?t pay enough for him to cover health insurance premiums), which means his diagnosis a month ago is particularly difficult to swallow. He was admitted to the hospital for chest pains, and an examination discovered the cancer.

A patient advocate from the Charleston Cancer Center, Susan Appelbaum, applied to a state program that provides Medicaid for breast cancer patients on Johnson?s behalf, but Johnson was denied because he?s a man. Or rather, because the coverage for breast cancer was set up to only be for woman.

So, because of the way the policy for inclusion was written, the state program had to deny coverage. According to WCIV-TV, the state?s Dept. of Health & Human Services blames the problem on the federal government, saying it has repeatedly told the feds that the policy is discriminatory.

?To be 26 and have breast cancer is really a surprise. Right now I?m stuck with these bills and I?m trying to find a way,? Johnson told WCIV.

Appelbaum is working to convince lawmakers to change the policy, as the $10,000 rounds of chemotherapy are ?financially devastating? to Johnson.

Gotta love America, though, where dire health situations result in the choice of saving your life or going bankrupt. But that?s okay. Free markets, socialism, European medicine, and death panels. Did we miss any of the arguments against altering the current system?

Anyway, hopefully with the news of this discriminatory policy, something may change, and Johnson will get the help and support he needs. Maybe one of the big breast cancer organizations would step up to show that although it?s not common in men, breast cancer is not a disease that impacts women alone.

Source: http://hypervocal.com/news/2011/south-carolina-man-denied-medical-coverage-for-breast-cancer-because-of-his-penis/

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