Callahan & Blaine

Kate Weissman Files Spearheading Class Action Lawsuit to Expose UnitedHealthcare’s Pursuit of Profits over Patient Protection and Care

SANTA ANA, CA – Kate Weissman is willing to brave litigation with a $150 billion health insurance company to bring about change in our healthcare system. On March 26, 2019, Ms. Weissman filed a class action lawsuit to challenge what she alleges to be UnitedHealthcare’s unfair and deceptive policies and procedures for determining whether a prescribed treatment or medication is medically necessary (utilization review). Ms. Weissman alleges that UnitedHealthcare’s utilization review process is skewed toward the denial of coverage based upon inadequate internal medical policies placed in the hands of unqualified medical directors.  This alleged institutional pattern and practice of wrongful conduct results in the systematic denial of coverage for medically necessary proton beam radiation therapy (“PBT “) for UnitedHealthcare’s insured members suffering with cancer, while offering coverage for far less expensive, though far more harmful, conventional radiation treatment.

In October 2015, 30-year-old Ms. Weissman was diagnosed with stage IIB cervical cancer. After various treatments and a relentless battle for her life, her doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital recommended PBT to avoid grave damage to surrounding tissue and organs. On April 6, 2016, UnitedHealthcare denied coverage, contending that PBT is experimental or investigational or unproven. Ms. Weissman alleges that PBT is an established form of treatment that is widely accepted by physicians, government agencies and many insurers and other payers, including Medicare and Medicaid. UnitedHealthcare relied on its own internal policies, as interpreted and applied to Ms. Weissman’s case by UnitedHealthcare’s medical directors, in denying coverage for PBT.  UnitedHealthcare would only agree to cover the more conventional intensity-modulated radiation therapy, which is about half the cost of PBT.

Ms. Weissman, who volunteers with Cervivor to advocate for the cervical cancer community, recognizes that she was fortunate enough to have the $95,000.00 to pay for the proton beam treatment ordered by her doctors so that she would not have to settle for the more dangerous and damaging conventional treatment. She is now fighting for those who cannot afford that choice.

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court, Central District of Massachusetts, Boston Division on behalf of Ms. Weissman by her attorneys, Rich Collins and Damon Eisenbrey of Callahan & Blaine in Santa Ana, California, in association with Lisa Kantor and Tim Rozelle of Kantor & Kantor in Northridge, California, and Mala Rafik of Rosenfeld & Rafik in Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. Collins stated that, “Kate was successful in a fight for her life and is now prepared to fight for change and hold UnitedHealthcare accountable so that others suffering from life-threatening illnesses will not have to agonize over wrongful coverage denials and crippling medical bills when they should be focusing on their survival and recovery.”

For more information, contact:
Laurali Kobal, Firm Administrator, 714-241-4444, Laurali@callahan-law.com

ABOUT RICHARD T. COLLINS: Mr. Collins is known for being an aggressive trial attorney who has been named to the list of Super Lawyers each year since 2015. Rich has been lead counsel in over 25 jury and court trials in federal and state courts throughout California and elsewhere. He is a litigator with extensive experience in the areas of insurance recovery, coverage and bad faith, and has recovered millions of dollars for his policyholder and health care provider clients through verdicts and settlements. 714-241-4444, rcollins@callahan-law.com

ABOUT DAMON D. EISENBREY: Mr. Eisenbrey is a Senior Attorney at Callahan & Blaine.  He has extensive experience in complex business litigation involving unfair methods of competition and unfair and deceptive business acts or practices.  Mr. Eisenbrey also represents insurance policyholders and health care providers in individual and class action insurance recovery, coverage and bad faith matters, and he prosecutes and defends cases in state and federal court.  714-241-4444; deisenbrey@callahan-law.com.

ABOUT CALLAHAN & BLAINE: Founded in 1984, Callahan & Blaine is California’s Premier Litigation Firm with record-breaking verdicts and settlements in all areas of complex litigation. With a current roster of more than 28 trial lawyers experienced and focused in virtually all civil practice areas, Callahan & Blaine offers civil litigants an impressive set of credentials and client service values.  Our attorneys have more than 700 years of trial experience, and since 2003, our verdicts and settlements add up to over $1.0 billion. Our law firm represents consumers and corporate, professional and entrepreneurial clients of all sizes. https://www.callahan-law.com/