The transplant center should send an information package to the insurer which includes a letter from the treating physician as well as studies and articles supporting the doctor's recommendation. The packet should include the name of a person the insurer can contact with follow-up questions. The letter from the doctor should stress that the treatment is the best available therapy for the patient, is safe and effective, and is widely accepted by the medical community. Include articles and graphs that explain why the treatment plan is appropriate. Use the most current articles and studies.
Older studies are less persuasive and usually report worse results.
Exercise care when sharing the protocol and your Informed Consent form with the insurance company. On the one hand, these documents provide detailed information about the treatment plan, and show that the therapy has been carefully reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board. However, protocols and Informed Consents are often the pretext used by insurers to deny coverage. Federal law requires that these documents include information about the experimental nature of any procedure. Many institutions remove the experimental warning when it is no longer appropriate, but some do not.