Denied, Delayed, Diminished: One Man’s 2025 Fight Against Cancer and His Insurance Company
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — In 2023, Eric Tennant weighed just 97 pounds when doctors diagnosed him with stage 4 bile duct cancer that had already spread to his bones. With a grim prognosis and a body ravaged by disease, Tennant was told he wouldn’t live to see the next year.
Now, in 2025, he’s defied the odds—but not without cost.
After enduring brutal rounds of chemotherapy that slowed the cancer’s spread but decimated his health and quality of life, the 58-year-old had a glimmer of hope. His wife, Rebecca, discovered a relatively new, noninvasive technology called histotripsy—a treatment that uses focused ultrasound waves to destroy tumors in the liver. It wasn’t a cure, but it could potentially extend Eric’s life and give him precious time off from chemotherapy.
Eric’s oncologist agreed: he was an ideal candidate for the procedure, since the largest tumor was located in his liver. But just as hope returned, a new battle began—this time not against cancer, but against the very system meant to support him.
His health insurance, provided through the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency, deemed the treatment “not medically necessary” and refused to pay.
A Broken System at the Worst Time
Despite repeated appeals—four in total—the insurance provider stood firm. The Tennants found themselves trapped in a maze of red tape, dealing with endless phone calls, cold denials, and bureaucratic delays.
“It’s a nightmare,” said Rebecca. “You’re fighting for someone’s life, and they treat you like a number in a spreadsheet.”
Their story isn’t unique. Across the country, patients—especially those with complex or terminal conditions—face similar insurance denials. According to a 2025 KFF/NBC News investigation, millions of coverage requests are rejected every year, often based on vague criteria like “lack of necessity.”
Prior authorization, the process by which insurers approve certain treatments in advance, has exploded in use—especially with the growth of Medicare Advantage plans and cost-saving pressures following the Affordable Care Act. While insurers say it’s a way to prevent fraud and reduce unnecessary treatments, critics argue it’s become a barrier to care—especially for the sickest and most vulnerable patients.
“At the end of the day, insurance companies are businesses,” said Jay Pickern, a health services management professor at Auburn University. “And businesses protect their bottom line.”
The Cost of Delay
Histotripsy, which would have cost around $50,000, was entirely out of pocket without insurance. The Tennants couldn’t afford it—and time kept slipping away.
Even when the media spotlight turned toward Eric’s case, it took intervention from journalists and multiple inquiries before the West Virginia insurance agency reversed its decision. They called it “an unusual and extraordinary exception,” insisting their policy hadn’t changed.
But by then, it was too late.
Eric’s condition worsened in the months of waiting. In May and early June 2025, he was hospitalized for five days with serious heart and lung complications. By the time approval came, he was no longer healthy enough to undergo the procedure.
Now, he and Rebecca are waiting again—this time to see if his body will recover enough for histotripsy to even be an option. New scans are scheduled for July.
“They wasted months of our time,” said Rebecca. “Time we didn’t have to lose.”
A National Pattern
Their ordeal echoes similar cases across the country. In Florida, 35-year-old Alexander Schrift died in May—just weeks after his insurer refused to cover a promising experimental cancer drug. In Virginia, 30-year-old Sheldon Ekirch’s parents dipped into retirement savings to pay for treatments denied by insurance, trying to ease the pain of her nerve condition. In every case, the story is the same: patients denied care when they need it most.
Even in the wake of dramatic events—like the 2024 murder of a major health insurance CEO, which triggered a national conversation around insurance abuse—change has been slow.
New federal reforms set to take effect in late 2025 aim to bring more transparency and shorter wait times for prior authorizations—but only for Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans. Employer-sponsored plans, which cover nearly half of Americans, are not included.
Meanwhile, some states like Virginia, North Carolina, and West Virginia have passed their own reforms requiring faster responses and greater transparency. But enforcement remains limited, and many patients still fall through the cracks.
“They Don’t Care if He Lives or Dies”
Eric Tennant’s case illustrates what many doctors have long said: insurers wield enormous power, often with minimal accountability.
As Rebecca watches her husband rest, weakened but still fighting, she holds on to a cautious hope that his condition will stabilize in time for treatment. But she knows the reality.
“This wasn’t just a delay,” she said. “It was months of suffering. Of stress. Of being ignored by people who should care.”
“Eric has stage 4 cancer. And it’s like they don’t care if he lives or dies.”