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The doctor who runs the cancer center in Montross has learned that health insurance can be an unpredictable business Date published: 4/30/2006
When Dr. Christopher S. Walsh opened his Mid-Rivers Cancer Center in Montross, the major health insurance companies paid for the advanced radiation treatments that he provided.
In recent months, two insurance plans have decided not to cover some of Walsh's treatments. As a result, some patients have started cancer treatments at Mid-Rivers, only to see their insurance coverage removed midway through their therapy. Walsh also is faced with the prospect of directing some eligible patients away from the advanced treatments to a less costly--and, he believes, less effective--form of therapy. "This whole battle has completely consumed me," Walsh said. The change in coverage has upset some residents of the Northern Neck. "When it comes to access, it seems we're relegated to second-class status," said Del. Robert J. Wittman, R-Montross. Wittman introduced legislation in this year's General Assembly to require insurance companies to pay for the type of radiation therapy that Walsh provides. His bill was referred to a study commission. Hearings are expected this summer. "I don't believe they fully appreciate the difference in treatment Dr. Walsh is providing," Wittman said. The decision by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and TrailBlazer Health Enterprises, the administrator for the federal Medicare program, illustrates the unpredictable nature of health insurance. A patient's coverage can change quickly. Cancer treatment seen as useful one day can be deemed unnecessary the next. Cancer treatment in MontrossMontross, a town of about 315 people in Westmoreland County, seemed an unlikely place for a linear accelerator and a $2 million radiation therapy center. But Walsh, the former director of the Cancer Center of Virginia on State Route 3 in Spotsylvania County, took a chance that he could operate a similar center in Montross for the residents of the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula. Patients there had been travelling to Richmond, Fredericksburg or Newport News for radiation treatments. They were excited by the possibility of a local cancer center. Residents packed public hearings and sent more than 6,000 letters of support to the state Health Department in Richmond. "He got a lot of support from the town of Montross and Westmoreland County," said C.W. "Buddy" Jackson, sheriff of Westmoreland and a lung cancer patient at Walsh's center.
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