KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Kansas man suffering from cancer can't have a bone marrow transplant because his insurance company won't allow it, KMBC's Jim Flink reported Thursday.

Some doctors said it's a scenario that happens all too often -- patients are denied critical medical care because health insurance companies care only about profits.

Dying Of Cancer

Tracy Pierce, 37, of Shawnee, is dying of cancer and isn't expected to live another year. He said his insurance company, First Health-Coventry, is doing nothing to stop it.

"I have no treatment -- three months have gone by and I'm getting no treatment," Pierce said.

Every time his doctor attempts to treat him, the claim is rejected.

Pierce's wife, Julie, is a health care professional and cannot believe what's happening.

"Everything the doctor prescribes -- they've shot down," Julie Pierce said.

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The family's doctor has written letters to First Health-Coventry, asking the company to approve payment for two drugs for Tracy: Tarceva and Avastin. Clinical studies showed that the drugs stop renal cell cancer in 70 percent of cases.

The insurance company rejected the claim, saying the drugs were not a medical necessity.

A life-saving bone marrow transplant was also rejected by First Health-Coventry, even though a donor match was found.

"(Tracy's) youngest brother came back from college, got tested, and he was a perfect match. They submitted it to (the insurance company) -- they denied it," Julie Pierce said.

The insurance company said the transplant was experimental and could not be covered.

'Scared To Death'

Tracy Warn is the mother of twins and is worried about a lump in her breast. For more than a year, her insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, has said it won't pay for an MRI because it is not a medical necessity, even though Warn's doctor said it is.

"I said, 'If I have breast cancer, you're not responsible?' And they said, 'No.' Because they won't give me an MRI," Warn said. "I think if the MRI will detect the mass, they should pay for it."

"Do you think they're messing with your life?" Flink asked.

"Of course," Warn said. "I'm scared to death."

Extortion, Fraud And Collusion

It's rulings like these that have doctors fed up. About 2,000 local physicians have filed several class-action lawsuits charging the metro area's biggest insurance providers with extortion, fraud and collusion. Doctors said the insurance companies are putting profits above patients and are obstructing care.

"We have a barrier between doctors and patients, and it's the insurance companies," said Dr. William Soper, with Mid-America Medical Affiliates.

"In essence, they are practicing medicine, which they have no right to do," said Dr. Bob Gibbons, with the Metropolitan Medical Society.

Doctors said the insurance companies are focused on money, not health.

"There's never been a better time to be an insurance company than right now," Soper said.

Studies show that insurance companies have doubled profits in just four years.

Doctors are accusing insurance providers of paying out incentives to claims adjusters who deny care.

"There's just a huge reward for denying care," Gibbons said.

Dr. James Mirabile said insurance companies go to extremes to meddle in doctor's care.

"The insurance companies send people in behind us on our rounds to make sure our patients get sent home within a certain time frame -- sick or not," said Mirabile, who is one of the doctors filing suit against insurance providers.

In the lawsuit, doctors allege the insurance providers are in collusion -- conspiring together with elaborate schemes to make it difficult to care for patients, such as constantly rejecting medical claims.

"What they're hoping for is that we'll just give up, or that the patient will just give up, and that we just won't work to get those tests approved," Soper said.

"It's not every now and then, it's not every once in a while, or even once a week -- it's every day, all day," Gibbons said.

What To Do?

Meanwhile, patients like Warn and Pierce wonder how they can fight back.

"To be honest -- I don't know what to do," Warn said.

She said her biggest fear is that the lump in her breast will mean her twin boys won't have a mom someday.

Doctors for Tracy Pierce said he has less than one year to live.

"This doesn't just affect Tracy, it affects me, our family and our 12-year-old son," Julie Pierce said.

Insurance Response

KMBC contacted two health insurance providers for a response to the lawsuits.

Humana called them "frivolous."

Blue Cross Blue Shield denied the allegations.

"We categorically deny any participation in, or knowledge of, any conspiracy with other health insurance companies," said Susan Johnson, with BCBS. "Our reputation locally as the gold standard in health care is built upon our passionate commitment to provide access to quality health care for our members at an affordable price, while at the same time, we fairly compensate for the services they provide."

Discussion: Insurance Companies And Your Health Care