Texas Man Dies Days After Walgreens Says Medication is ‘Delayed’

A 78-year-old Texas man died by suicide just days after a newly prescribed medication for his worsening lung disease became caught up in a confusing insurance and pharmacy delay, according to his widow.

Kenney Blewett, of Kyle, Texas, had lived with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, for more than a decade. But his wife, Cindy Blewett, said his condition had become increasingly difficult to manage in the months before his death.

The breathing attacks were frightening and unpredictable.

Cindy said the flare-ups could leave her husband feeling as though he could not draw a breath, and although the episodes often lasted only a few minutes, they had begun happening more frequently.

Even ordinary activities had become difficult.

Kenney had reportedly lost about 45 pounds, rarely left the house and could become winded simply taking out the trash.

On June 2, his pulmonologist prescribed two new treatments in hopes of reducing his symptoms and preventing future COPD flare-ups.

Kenney was optimistic.

But one of the medications, a liquid treatment intended to be inhaled through a nebulizer, was never dispensed to him before his death.

Two days after the doctor’s appointment, Walgreens sent a message saying the prescription had been delayed because of an insurance issue that the pharmacy was working to resolve, according to KFF Health News.

Kenney repeatedly asked his wife whether the medication was ready.

Cindy initially did not think the delay was unusual. She said their local Walgreens had seemed understaffed for months and prescriptions were sometimes taking longer to fill.

When she contacted the pharmacy, however, she said she was told the medication required prior authorization.

That explanation would later become increasingly confusing.

Kenney had several layers of health coverage, including traditional Medicare Parts A and B, a private Medicare Part D prescription plan through Wellcare Value Script and a Medicare supplement policy through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.

Because the disputed medication was designed to be used through a nebulizer, it apparently fell under Medicare Part B’s durable medical equipment benefit rather than his Part D prescription coverage.

Medicare rules allow certain nebulizer medications used to treat obstructive pulmonary disease to be covered under Part B when coverage requirements are met.

Those claims also generally need a diagnosis code showing the medical condition that makes the nebulizer treatment necessary.

After Kenney’s death, Cindy said she contacted Medicare and was told the agency had no record of the prescription being billed to his Part B coverage.

She then went back to Walgreens seeking an explanation.

According to Cindy, a Walgreens district pharmacy supervisor later told her that the pharmacy had attempted to process the prescription through Medicare Part B on June 2 but could not complete the claim because the doctor’s prescription was missing a required diagnosis code.

Cindy said she was told Walgreens requested the missing information from the pulmonologist’s office that same day.

But an employee at the doctor’s practice later told her they could not find any record of receiving such a request.

Kenney’s pulmonologist did not respond to requests for comment from KFF Health News.

Walgreens also declined to discuss the specifics of the case, saying it could not comment on matters involving individual patients.

That has left Cindy without a clear answer about what went wrong.

The medication delay came during an already difficult period for Kenney.

Cindy said her husband had struggled with his mental health for years and had previously attempted suicide. His declining physical condition had apparently intensified those struggles.

On Sunday, June 7, Kenney experienced another COPD flare-up while Cindy was outside mowing the yard.

Later that night, Cindy was sitting on the back porch when she heard a loud noise from inside the home.

At first, she thought a picture had fallen from a wall.

She went inside and found her husband in their bedroom with a fatal gunshot wound.

He had left a note.

According to Cindy, Kenney wrote about how much he loved his wife and family but said his worsening health had become too difficult for him to continue enduring.

The tragedy came only five days after the pulmonologist prescribed the new treatments.

Several weeks after Kenney’s death, another package arrived at the Blewett home.

It contained the second COPD treatment his doctor had ordered directly from a drug manufacturer during the June 2 appointment.

For Cindy, the arrival only deepened her questions about what might have happened if both medications had reached her husband sooner.

She said Kenney had genuinely believed the treatments might help him.

There is no way to know whether receiving the medications earlier would have prevented his death, and the available reporting has not established that Walgreens, Medicare or any insurer caused his suicide.

Cindy herself acknowledges that her husband had longstanding mental health struggles and serious health problems.

But she remains troubled by the unresolved chain of events surrounding the prescription.

The case also illustrates the unusually complicated way some medications are handled under Medicare.

Most medications picked up at a retail pharmacy are associated with Medicare Part D. However, certain drugs used with durable medical equipment, including some nebulizer treatments, can instead fall under Part B.

Federal Medicare guidance requires claims for nebulizer drugs and related equipment to include documentation showing that the treatment is medically necessary, including an appropriate diagnosis code.

That distinction can create confusion for patients dealing with pharmacies, physicians and multiple insurance plans at the same time.

COPD itself is a progressive lung disease that includes conditions such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Patients can experience coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and sudden exacerbations in which breathing symptoms sharply worsen.

For Kenney, Cindy said those episodes had increasingly shaped his daily life.

Now, months after losing her husband, she is still trying to understand why a medication his doctor prescribed never reached him.

She said she may never know whether faster access to the treatment would have changed what happened.

But she wishes they had been given the opportunity to find out.

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.