As an ear, nose, and throat physician with over 20 years of experience, Hurley entered into his battle with cancer knowing full well that his treatment would involve constant back-and-forths with his insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield. He was all too familiar with the administrative burden that prior authorization places on doctors' offices, often requiring them to fill out labyrinthine paperwork on behalf of patients for even the most routine procedures and medications. More important, Hurley had seen how the time-consuming process could delay a patient's care - a minor inconvenience to some but a potential matter of life and death for people like him.
"This is happening all day, every day, to everybody," Hurley says. "If you just need a sinus CT scan because you're seeing an ENT, you don't notice it as much. But your sinus infection isn't about to kill you."
Treatment began quickly and aggressively; two months later, he had a hemipelvectomy to remove a portion of his pelvis and implant a new hip, leaving him unable to walk for several months. Hurley set about finding specialists who could maximize his chances of survival and grant him more time with his wife and three kids at their home in Phoenix.
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