A Utah couple said that their health insurance company refused to cover the prosthetic arm of their nine-year-old daughter, saying it was "not medically necessary." This led the public to band together to raise funds to cover the robotic arm.
Remi Bateman, 9, was born without a left hand, leading her to struggle with basic tasks such as tying her shoes. Her disability has also led her to be targeted by bullies in school. While she has used basic prosthetics, the arms were too stiff and the movements it allowed were too restricted, which prevented her from doing tasks requiring fine motor skills.
To resolve this, Jami, the child's mother, applied for a "Hero Arm," which is a bionic robot arm that functions like a natural arm and hand from the company Open Bionics. The arm would allow Remi to do things such as lift a fork and knife. The Hero Arm go for $24,000---a cost that the family hoped Select Health, their health insurance company, would pay for.
Why Did Select Health Deny Their Request for Coverage?
The Batemans requested insurance coverage with Select Health, but they have been denied twice.
"They sent us a letter saying it was not medically necessary for Remi to have a Hero Arm and that it was for cosmetic use only," Jami said, per The Washington Post. "We appealed twice and were again denied."
The rejection comes even after the family provided Select Health with documentation from medical providers stating that the bionic arm would improve Remi's overall quality of life.
Funding the Bionic Arm
Following the denial of the requests, Jami launched a GoFundMe campaign for her daughter. Within days, the donations surpassed the family's goal of $24,000.
When news of their predicament went viral, CrowdHealth CEO Andy Schoonover contacted the family. The firm said they wanted to cover the entire cost of Remi's bionic arm.
With the cost for Remi's bionic arm now covered, the Batemans contacted Open Bionics and chose Tyraun "Taj" Johnson, also 9, to receive the donations from their GoFundMe campaign to fund his Hero Arm.
Tyraun will get fitted for his bionic arm in January.
