Insurance Won't Pay For Breast Birth Defect Surgery

From WSET in Roanoke, Virginia:

If you pay health insurance every month, you expect the coverage to be there when you need it. One Roanoke mother is frustrated because her claim has been denied twice by her provider. Her 14-year old daughter has, what her doctor calls a birth defect. But the insurance company says the procedure the doctor wants to do is cosmetic so they won't cover it.

Dr. Briener - "I can't remember a time when I haven't had a patient covered by insurance for this type of deformity."

Doctor Briener has diagnosed his young female patient with Poland's Syndrome. That's an absence or underdevelopment of the chest muscle on one side of the body...

There is also a video of the news report that you can view on the WSET website.

5-year-old appears in new Tom Hanks movie

From SouthCoastToday.com:

Five-year-old Kenzie Waskiewicz from Dartmouth has what she calls a "little hand" and a "big hand." Kenzie was born without most of her left hand.

She also has luminous eyes, a beautiful face and a fearless personality — all of which earned her a part in the upcoming Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts film.

Due out in December, "Charlie Wilson's War" is about the effects of a Texas Congressman's covert dealings in Afghanistan to assist rebels against the Soviet Union. Kenzie plays a wounded refugee...

...When Kenzie's parents, Eric and Dayna Waskiewicz, found out that their daughter might have an opportunity to shine on the silver screen, they didn't have a portfolio for her and they weren't pushing her towards stardom. Because they are members of the Helping Hands Foundation — a nonprofit for children with "upper limb differences" — they were alerted to a special casting call...

I finished the book about a week ago. As several of the professional critics noted, it's an amazing story that requires you at times to remind yourself that it's non-fiction. For those interested in the book, know that there's some rough language and several adult only stories. But for those whose sensibilities aren't offended, it's a whirlwind account of how an unlikely cadre of individuals set in motion a series of events that for better or worse changed (or at least expedited) the course of history.

Senators introduce CARES Act

Senators Mary Landrieu and Norm Coleman have introduced a Senate version of the CARES Act. A House version was introduced in March of this year.