“If the insurance companies covered medical products from the outset, there wouldn’t be such a cost to these companies for hospital stays and doctor visits which ultimately result
when access to medical nutrition is denied.”
LaTesha has always had a difficult relationship with food. Food was associated with pain.
She was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at five years old. At thirteen, she had to get a feeding tube and would get monthly deliveries of Ensure and Boost. These products were the foundation of her diet.
After a while, the tube became infected and the Ensure was no longer covered by her mother’s insurance. She lost weight and had to endure repeated trips to the hospital.
Sadly, child services was notified because they thought that LaTesha was suffering from child neglect and was malnourished. Her mother was doing everything that she could do to help her child, but LaTesha simply wouldn’t eat because she would be in so much pain.
LaTesha believes that insurance companies play an important role in the lives of those with gastrointestinal disorders as patients’ lives can sometimes depend on access to medical nutrition products.
In LaTesha’s case, the insurance company covered none of her medical nutrition needs.
