D’ashon Morris is a toddler with special needs. He breathes aided by a tracheostomy tube that, at times, he pulls out. The attending nurse simply reconnects the breathing instrument, and D’ashon would be just fine. One day in October 2016, D’ashon disconnected the tube, but no one was around to fix the problem. He suffered brain damage.
D’ashon’s brain was denied oxygen supply, and his doctors insisted the incident could have been avoided had the patient been afforded a 1-on-1 RN care facility around the clock. However, Superior Health Plan rejected the request, and the boy is now in graver condition. The U.S. Media got wind of the incident and pinned the blame on Superior, a Texas subsidiary of Centene Corp.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Superior withheld the life-sustaining care that D’ashon needed. The insurer had neglected to go the extra mile for the child. And as a result, the latter was rendered damaged for life. That’s because Superior was trying to cut costs to realize more earnings, essentially putting more value on money than human life.
Centene: It’s Not Our Fault
D’ashon’s case got the attention of Democratic Senator Bob Casey, a ranking member of the Senate Health Care Committee. The Pennsylvania legislator conducted a probe and called on Centene CEO Michael Neidorff to shed light on the incident.
Sen. Casey was expecting that Centene would be decent enough to take responsibility that a critically ill child suffered further under the company’s watch. And that the $60 billion insurer would be willing to make amends. Instead, the senator got the shock of his life when Neidorff made clear it was business as usual for Centene.
Also, Neidorff argued that it’s not his company’s fault that D’ashon suffered irreversible damage. He pointed the blame on the hospital staff, insisting that the responsibility of putting back the child’s breathing tube rests on the attending nurse or his foster mother. However, Neidorff failed to note the established facts that D’ashon’s nurse at that time was off duty and his mother was on approved vacation.
To sum up his stand, Neidorff stressed that the media got the facts wrong on the D’ashon case. He added: “We work tirelessly to ensure we provide the appropriate level of care for our members.”
Centene Stance Unbelievable
Sen. Casey could hardly believe that Centene would brush aside the allegations with ease. He was expecting that the insurer would promise to do better, but based on the words delivered by Neidorff, Centene has no interest in making right the wrong done on D’ashon, the senator continued. After meeting with the Centene big boss, Sen. Casey can only conclude that Neidorff is “callous” and unable to empathize with the sufferings of a fellow human being.
The senator called on the Department of Health and Human Services to dig deeper into the activities of Medicaid contractors. Sen. Casey said it’s only proper for the government to put a greater oversight on Medicaid providers in order to protect vulnerable patients. His recommendations are expected to put more weight on proposals that erring providers like Centene should be held accountable. Their misdeeds should not go unpunished.
