Patient is out of network, out of luck - latimes

Patient is out of network, out of luck - latimes

Patient is out of network, out of luck After Kaiser advised him to enter hospice, Jalal Afshar sought out-of-network treatment that he says saved his life. Now he's suing for the $2-million cost of care. "The doctor came in and said, 'It's time for you to go… (Gary Friedman, Los Angeles…) A worrisome abdominal pain drove Jalal Afshar to seek treatment last year at healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente. The Pasadena resident and Kaiser member had lived for years with a rare condition known as Castleman's disease, which affects the lymph nodes and the body's immune system. But this was the first time he experienced such severe symptoms. Kaiser granted his request to see a specialist in Arkansas. But it ultimately declined to pay for his treatment there. By June, Afshar said, Kaiser was arranging for hospice care so that he could die at home. Afshar, 58, refused to accept that. Despite Kaiser's stance, he went back to Arkansas for six months of stem-cell transplants,

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