While he fights for his life, a local man says he is also fighting his insurance company. The man's family contacted 17News after battling Kaiser Permanente for months and getting nowhere.
Sixty-year-old Warren Currier suffers from multiple sclerosis. He can't walk and doesn't remember much. But when his mother broke down in tears telling his story, he comforted her.
"We are all here mom. This is what you wanted, we are all here now,” Warren said to his mom.
Josephine Currier says she never wanted her son's medical problems to go public. But after feeling like Kaiser ignored her pleas for help for four months, the mother says she was left with no other choice.
“I found it daunting. I found it very difficult to deal with Kaiser Permanente. The sicker Warren got, it seemed like they wanted to back off,” mother Josephine Currier said.
Currier says Warren became sicker after Kaiser pulled him out of HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital and placed him in the convalescent home where he lives now.
Warren's caregiver says she fought to get him into HealthSouth and saw drastic improvements.
“It was just a matter of like four or five days and he was blooming like a flower. It was like he was getting better. I was seeing a part of him that was gone for a long time. And they were bringing it back,” caregiver Taia Herrin said.
And Warren also says he started to feel stronger and happier while at HealthSouth. He says the center has a program specifically for patients with MS, so he was getting physical exercise and speech therapy daily.
But after 12 days at HealthSouth, Warren says someone came to his room and packed his bags.
“People with multiple sclerosis, especially me, they have problems remembering things. They have problems with vision. They have problems with their speech, so that's why I talking the way I’m talking," Warren said. "It’s really hard for me to recall things. But like I said I just remember when I was there I felt like I was getting better. And I blame myself for telling them I was getting better and all of a sudden they released me.”
Four months later, Warren's mother says she is still battling with Kaiser to get him back into HealthSouth. 17News contacted Kaiser about Warren’s case. Kaiser did not want to go on camera, but they did send us this statement:
“We can understand the confusion and concern expressed by Mr. Currier and his family. His physician has met with them to discuss their situation twice in the past month. Mr. Currier has suffered from multiple sclerosis for more than a decade and his condition has deteriorated. He recently spent two weeks at the HealthSouth Bakersfield Rehabilitation Hospital where he was able to meet his treatment goals and was discharged.
Mr. Currier told us yesterday that he was having problems with transportation to his physical and speech therapy appointments. We will have a social worker contact him to help him arrange for his transportation needs. His physician is reaching out to Mr. Currier to help him consider his long term options. He needs 24 hour care, but does not require hospitalization. There are a variety of facilities in the Bakersfield area that may be able to help him. We will work with him and his family directly to help them understand the options going forward.”
But Warren's mother says the insurance company is constantly asking for more referrals, and Kaiser doctors never want to write them. The family says it all boils down to one issue.
“Kaiser Permanente is no different than any other large corporation. The less they put out in the way of money, that's what they are there for. When my son needs more help, it’s gonna cost them more money,” Josephine Currier said.
According to the HealthSouth the average cost for a patient is about $1,000 a day. A study by MetLife Market Institute done last year shows the average cost for a nursing home is about $230 a day.
