New Jersey man calls 7 On Your Side for help to get expensive back surgery fully covered

UNION BEACH, New Jersey (WABC) -- A New Jersey man called 7 On Your Side after hitting a major roadblock in his fight to get a surgery that could transform his day-to-day life.

Every single day Patrick Laberdee lives in pain.

"If I bend over it, it's stabbing, otherwise, it's just a radiating pain, it's there all day," he said.

A bad back has meant multiple surgeries over the years and now he has a ruptured disk.

"It's a grade four, which is the highest level in severity, it's got a tear on the disk all the way around," Laberdee said.

He says he has tried every non-surgical alternative, but nothing has worked. His doctor ordered an operation, but the blockage is his health insurance which denied the spinal surgery as not medically necessary.

Laberdee appealed the denial with a letter from his doctor, stating "he has failed non-operative treatment, he requires surgery," but still it has not been approved.

"And they said it wasn't severe enough bulge for them to approve the surgery," Laberdee said.

The estimated cost of the operation is as high as $176,000 and his choices are to either pay out of pocket or continue to live in agony - leaving him unable to pick up and hug his six grandkids or help his wife of 29 years with even the simplest household chores.

"I want to be cutting the grass, you know, she can't, she mows the lawn, in the wintertime, I want to shovel the snow, it's not fair," Laberdee said.

His heart is broken knowing Stephanie is left to pick up the slack.

"She works all day, I'm home, she shouldn't have to come home from work and work some more," he said.

Desperate for relief, he decided to call 7 On Your Side.

We contacted Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield and its agents and reached out to Laberdee's surgeon, stating that he shared information that was not in the record originally provided to Horizon.

Adding that confirmation confirmed that the surgery was in keeping with those standards of care and as a result, Horizon approved coverage for the surgery.

His fully covered surgery was scheduled for the next week.

"I would say 7 On Your Side, you're amazing...they wouldn't have done it, they would not have done it," he said.

Read the full statement from Horizon below:

"This case is a reminder that patients get the care they need and the convenience they deserve when doctors and insurers work together. Pre-treatment coverage determinations rely on diagnostic information confirming that the proposed treatment aligns with nationally recognized standards of care. When Horizon reached out to Mr. Laberdee's surgeon to discuss the case, he shared information that was not included in the records originally provided to Horizon. That information confirmed that the surgery was in keeping with those standards of care and, as a result, Horizon approved coverage for the surgery at the end of that call."

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