Her husband, Ray Palmer, is not sure if a transfer to HealthSouth would have helped, but he isn’t ruling out the possibility.
“I just honestly don’t know,” Palmer said.
After a series of strokes, Dee Palmer’s doctor ordered a transfer to HealthSouth. It was denied by Palmer’s Medicare Advantage insurer Humana, which then denied an appeal for the transfer.
Ray Palmer was increasingly frustrated by Humana, especially one day when he talked to six representatives and did not receive an answer.
Dr. Albert Tzeel, Humana’s Northwest Florida Medicare chief medical officer, said Palmer could have appealed a second time but that there was no guarantee it would have changed anything.
“Each case is evaluated and reviewed on an individual basis on its merits, and not on where the member’s grievance is in the appeal process,” Tzeel wrote in an email.
Ray Palmer does not plan any punitive reply to Humana. Instead, he wants to warn seniors about the dangers of Medicare Advantage plans.
“The bottom line is that with Advantage plans is that you are at the mercy of the insurance company, not the doctor,” he said. “She did not get the care the doctor asked for. If we would have had a Medicare Supplement plan, my wife would have been transferred immediately.”
At the request of HealthSouth President Tony Bennett, Palmer has agreed to speak to senior Sunday school classes and to the Rotary Club.