Aetna Suit Over Denied Chemo Goes to State Court

Aetna Inc. will have to defend in state court claims it improperly denied an 87-year-old woman coverage for chemotherapy treatments and caused her cancer to return.

Rosalie Vaccarino sued Aetna in California state court, alleging her Aetna health management plan wrongfully refused to pay for the treatments.

A four-month delay in treatment resulting from the denial allowed cancerous tissue to grow back, causing irreversible injury, Vaccarino said.

Aetna removed the case to federal court, arguing it raised a federal question. The plan to which Vaccarino belonged was a Medicare Advantage plan administered by Aetna Health of California, it said. Vaccarino’s ...