Tweeting for Student Health Care Coverage
After an Arizona graduate student developed colon cancer, his Aetna Student Health plan was maxed out.
"A doctoral student at Arizona State University, Mr. Guha was insured under an Aetna Student Health plan for which he paid $400 a month. The plan initially covered his care, but in February, Mr. Guha’s treatment costs reached the $300,000 cap on the insurance plan, leaving the student with $118,000 in medical bills," it was reported on The New York Times' Well blog.
After a series of Tweets, beginning on July 22, Mr. Guha engaged with the CEO of Aetna, Mark Bertolini, among others. Eventually, Aetna agreed to pay for Mr. Guha's medical bills. Mr. Guha told The NYTimes Well blog that he felt he could share praise about Mr. Bertolini's response. “In the end, he did the right thing,” Mr. Guha told the Well blog. “Now the fight moves on to ensuring this never needs to happen for anyone ever again.”
To that end, activists connected with the Healthcare for the 99% Working Group of Occupy Wall Street reached out to Mr. Guha, and Mr. Guha posted this message about the importance of a single-payer healthcare system :
