Woman Who Lost Her Hand In Shark Attack Forced To Raise Money For A Prosthetic After Insurance Company Said It’s Not Medically Necessary
“We don’t think about how often we use our hands to do tasks until you lose one."
shurkin_son | Shutterstock The internet has become inundated with health insurance horror stories following the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. You'd be hard-pressed to find a single American who hasn't had an issue with their insurer at one time or another.
Elisabeth Foley, a woman who lost her hand in a brutal shark attack, is no different. Although her medical team recommended the use of a prosthetic, her health insurance company did not deem it "medically necessary," leaving the mother of three to scrape up $73,000 all on her own.
The woman who lost her hand in a shark attack was forced to raise money for her prosthetic after her health insurance company refused to cover the cost.
Foley was bitten by a shark while vacationing in Florida last summer. The attack resulted in the loss of her left hand as well as severe pelvic injuries. After nearly bleeding to death and enduring 25 surgeries, 45-year-old Foley is finally on the mend.
Her medical team recommended the use of a myoelectric prosthetic hand which would allow Foley to regain some of the motion she was stripped of after the attack. The prosthetic is powered by the residual muscles in the arm, sending signals to the device which causes the prosthetic wrist and hand to perform specialized tasks.
Her health insurer, Cigna Healthcare, initially promised to cover the $73,000 cost of the hand and that she would receive it on Christmas Eve. However, they went back on their word, leaving Foley to come up with the funds herself.
“I just felt so deflated, I don’t know how else to describe it,” she told The New York Post. “It’s insane and so frustrating, because I paid for health insurance my entire life and had the healthiest life, so I barely used it. But I need their help now, and they won’t help me.”
Foley admitted that the denied claim was one of the “lowest points” of her entire road to recovery. “We don’t think about how often we use our hands to do tasks until you lose one,” she added.
vk_st | Shutterstock
Although Foley currently utilizes a body-powered prosthetic hook, she explained that the specific prosthetic she is seeking would transform her life tremendously.
Foley was left to raise her own money to cover the outrageously expensive cost of her prosthetic hand.
The mom launched a GoFundMe page to gather donations.
“Without this hand, Elisabeth faces a future marked by limited skills, stunted mobility, and a diminished quality of life,” the page reads.
“Elisabeth's insurance company denied coverage citing her policy has an exclusion for myoelectric devices," it continued. "Elisabeth hopes to raise the money from generous donations from concerned public. A myoelectric is her best chance for a dependent and functional life.”
Thankfully, the page already surpassed its goal and accumulated over $80,000 in donations!
A Cigna Healthcare spokesperson recently addressed Foley’s denied claim.
“While many of our health plans cover a number of prosthetic options, we are evaluating benefit updates to help expand coverage of advanced prosthetics for more people," they shared in a statement.
According to the Amputee Coalition of America and Pro Medical East, around 1.7 million Americans use prosthetic limbs. However, fewer than half of amputees receive a prescription for their prosthetic devices and one in ten amputees are unable to obtain a prosthetic due to financial difficulties.
Prosthetics are more than just fancy gadgets — they provide users the chance to live the life they deserve. It seems Foley will get hers, no thanks to Cigna Healthcare.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.