CIGNA denying coverage of IVIG

This is my first post here. I was diagnosed in 1975 with CIDP – one of the original group that defined the illness. The highly respected Dr Raymond Adams at Mass General did the work up and presented me at grand rounds to 100 neurologists. So I figure you can’t have a stronger diagnosis.

UCLA Research managed my case for years and I had very few relapses. In ’95 they tried ivig and I got meningitis. Ugh.

Last year I had a major relapse and was put on high doses of steroids and also ivig. Obviously the doctors were very concerned about giving it to me again and it had to be administered extremely slowly in a hospital with vitals checked constantly. My blood pressure would start to drop and they’d slow it down – sometimes it would take 10 – 12 hours for a single dose. I did five days in the hospital 11 times. 55 days. Then a day every other week. I stopped for a couple of months and got much worse. In the last 13 months I have been in the hospital for ivig infusions 60 times. I’m also on 2,000 mg of Cellcept.

God bless Aetna. They paid without every questioning. They called to offer support. I never had to worry.

Now CIGNA has taken over as the carrier for my husband’s company. They are refusing to pay for the last two hospitalizations, and are saying any future infusions must be pre-approved, not take place in a hospital, and we must demonstrate that the treatment is providing measurable improvement. Are you frigging kidding me?!

Any advice from you all? I’m fighting for my life here and CIGNA is making it a lot worse.

– Rosemary