A Kennesaw family is distraught after they said their insurance company denied a claim for heart surgery that 22-year-old Van Bowling desperately needs.
Bowling has brittle bone disease and mitral valve insufficiency, a common form of valvular heart disease, which can lead to pulmonary hypertension, atrial fibrillation or heart failure. He also has aortic insufficiency, a condition that can develop when the aortic valve is damaged.
What it boils down to is, he has brittle bones and an enlarged heart that’s leaking, Bowling said.
“You know that ‘bump bump’ noise you get from your heart? I don’t get that because my heart valve doesn’t close all the way,” Bowling explained.
His doctors want to place a clamp on his heart valve to keep that blood from going back into his heart, but Bowling’s insurance company has denied the procedure - stating he could have open heart surgery instead.
But for Bowling and his doctors, that's an option.
“I can’t have open heart surgery because they would have to open up my rib cage, and my doctor said my ribs wouldn’t go back into place,” Bowling said.
Kennesaw man needs heart surgery
His mother said getting the clamp isn’t just safer - it’s cheaper - and all of his doctors agree.
While Bowling signed a HIPPA release form for his insurance, Anthem Inc, the company stated that it is a complicated issue and they need more time to respond to questions regarding Bowling’s care.
"We are in the process of gathering more information to better understand this particular case," a spokesperson for Anthem said.
The debate about what procedure Bowling needs has come down to the wire.
His surgery for the clamp procedure was scheduled for Aug. 17. His family said he was sedated and was being wheeled into surgery when the insurance company denied coverage. Since then, his parents have fought with the insurance company every single day.
“It’s a dark cloud over our heads. He has not been able to work, he’s extremely fatigued,” said his mother, Aubrey Bowling. “We had hoped this would help him feel better. When they canceled it, we were in shock and dismay. The doctors and nurses just cannot believe it, that it went this far.”
He was scheduled to go back into surgery this Friday, but late Tuesday, the insurance company turned him down again.
“His life is on hold and his health is at risk … as his mother, I just don’t know what else to do,” Aubrey said. “My son has a rare disease. It affects his teeth, his eyes, his hearing, his heart, his bones, his legs, the way he walks. This disease affects everything. If he doesn’t get the surgery, his heart will continue to be damaged and we don’t know what that does to his life expectancy.”
This holiday season, the Bowling family is hoping for a miracle.
“It’s taking away our holiday joy, it’s taking away our daily joy,” Aubrey said. “We are not asking a lot. We are not asking a whole lot from this insurance company.”