One of the president’s anecdotes of insurance denial wasn’t exactly true

Much ink has been spilled over the fact a Republican congressman shouted “you lie” during President Obama’s televised speech before a joint session of Congress.

Not so much over a couple of anecdotes Obama used to drive home his point about how horrible insurance companies are about denying coverage for flimsy reasons.

Here is what he said:

“One man from Illinois lost his coverage in the middle of chemotherapy because his insurer found that he hadn't reported gallstones that he didn't even know about. They delayed his treatment, and he died because of it. Another woman from Texas was about to get a double mastectomy when her insurance company canceled her policy because she forgot to declare a case of acne. By the time she had her insurance reinstated, her breast cancer had more than doubled in size. That is heart-breaking, it is wrong, and no one should be treated that way in the United States of America.”

The names behind those anecdotes are Otto Raddatz of Downers Grove, Ill., and Robin Beaton of Waxahachie, Tex.

The stories of both of these people appears in a congressional hearing on June 16 and you can read the transcript for yourself. Raddatz’s story is told by his sister. Beaton tells her own.

In 2004 Raddatz was diagnosed with stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He immediately began intensive chemotherapy. He was referred in 2005 to a specialist for a possible stem cell transplant and underwent more chemotherapy in preparation. He was to be scheduled for the stem cell transplant in three to four weeks.

That’s when his insurance company canceled his policy. His insurer told him he failed to disclose a 2000 CT scan that showed he had a small aneurysm and insignificant gallstones. Peggy Raddatz said her brother’s doctor never told him this.

The sister got an attorney and appealed to the state attorney general’s office. The previous doctor was contacted and the insurer reversed its decision and he was treated.

He lived three and a half more years and died earlier this year when another potential stem cell donor became ill at the last minute.

So he did not die because of the insurance company denial.

Beaton got her insurance reinstated by appealing to a Republican congressman, who went to bat for her.

Listen to her story yourself: