COPD Patient Kenney Blewett Died by Suicide After 5-Day Medication Delay
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Oct 2
COPD Patient Kenney Blewett Died by Suicide After 5-Day Medication Delay
2 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Oct 2
Summary
June 7 marked the end of a five-day wait for a new COPD drug when Kenney Blewett, 65, died by suicide hours after another severe breathing flare-up, according to his wife.
A June 4 Walgreens email cited an insurance issue, but Cindy Blewett later heard conflicting explanations involving prior authorization, Medicare billing and a missing diagnostic code needed to process the prescription under Part B.
Medicare told Cindy it had no record the nebulized liquid drug was billed to Part B, while Walgreens said it sought the missing code from the pulmonologist the same day the prescription was written; the doctor’s office said it did not see that fax.
The case highlights broader confusion over Medicare’s Part B-Part D split and prior authorization, even as nearly 7 in 10 adults call insurance delays and denials a major problem.
Federal officials and insurers have pledged to ease access barriers, but the commitments are voluntary, and doctors and patients say Medicare’s new AI-driven preapproval pilot could add more red tape.