Man's insurance carrier agrees to cover $500,000 for his stem cell transplant

The insurance carrier said a week ago that it wouldn't cover the procedure.
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- He doesn't know why it happened, but Sam Swartz said his insurance company has now informed him that it will cover the cost of his blood stem cell transplant in his fight against leukemia.
Swartz, 44, of Neshannock Township, was told Aug. 1 that HealthAmerica-HealthAssurance wouldn't pay for the procedure, which could cost more than $500,000.
That word came after the insurance company had already paid for donor testing and Swartz's preparatory tests for the procedure, he said.
Swartz's cousin, Lori Bible of Hermitage, was found to be a match in five of six key categories, and his transplant surgeon said the match was good, Swartz said.
He had been undergoing tests in Pittsburgh on Aug. 1 and found out when he got home that night that the insurance company had denied funding for the procedure, telling him that the match with Bible wasn't close enough.
Swartz said he immediately filed an appeal with the insurance company. He told The Vindicator on Friday that the ruling had been reversed.
HealthAmerica-HealthAsssurance has agreed to pay for the procedure, he said, adding that he will go to the Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Pittsburgh on Thursday to begin getting chemotherapy in preparation for the transplant.
The procedure is set for Aug. 21, he said.
Recovery
His leukemia is in the "accelerated" stage, and he stands a 75 percent to 80 percent chance of survival with the transplant. Without it, he has less than two years to live, he said.
The insurance company is covering the transplant, but there are other expenses it won't cover, such as a month-long stay in a hospital-owned apartment in Pittsburgh to continue undergoing daily treatments after the procedure.
Carol Swartz of Sharon, Bible's mother, said the family is planning fund-raising events to help cover those costs.
The first will be a spaghetti dinner, but no time or location has been set, she said Friday.