Please sign my petition to tell AETNA: STOP denying the disabled, sick, and those with genetic disorders the specialized wheelchairs they so desperately need: http://signon.org/sign/aetna-wheelchair-fraud. Please post this petition on your Facebook to spread the message so people know the truth about AETNA!

My AETNA wheelchair nightmare began in 2011, when a rare genetic disorder caused my hips, along with my other joints, to dislocate, creating inoperable tears. Since surgery on me is impossible, several top surgeons in the country from the Hospital for Special Surgery and Mt. Sinai prescribed me a wheelchair--a totally devastating reality for a 32 year old. Even though numerous prescriptions and letters from these top surgeons were sent to AETNA for my specialized wheelchair, AETNA has denied me my wheelchair for six months, and repeatedly engaged in recorded cases of insurance fraud to prevent me from obtaining the wheelchair ordered for me by the Wheelchair Clinic at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

Since I am unable to ambulate without a wheelchair, AETNA's illegal persistence in denying me the wheelchair to which I am entitled under my plan and the law has significantly impacted my daily functioning, and sadly led to subsequent unnecessary physical damage, for which I will now need to undergo surgery. The physical, emotional, and mental toll from this insurance nightmare has made my life unbearable.

Sadly, my wheelchair nightmare with AETNA is not unique. My surgical and wheelchair team at HSS said that AETNA is by far the worst insurance company for the disabled and sick who need wheelchairs. On average, it takes at least six months with AETNA--if one is lucky enough--to get the wheelchair they require, because AETNA tries every trick in the book to stall and deny the sick and disabled essential durable medical equipment. Needing a wheelchair at such a young age is hard enough, but AETNA's discrimination against the disabled and those with genetic disorders, combined with insurance fraud, adds major insult to injury.

Even though most of you reading this are not disabled, I too never thought I would be disabled and need a wheelchair. Unfortunately, this horrific ordeal can happen to anyone--and often does, especially with AETNA.

I am starting this petition to make as many people as possible aware of AETNA's practices towards the disabled, especially with regard to denying wheelchairs to those who need them the most.

I will also be filing a complaint about this with the New York Bureau of Insurance, and taking legal action. Thanks to my media contacts, I will also be sharing my AETNA-wheelchair- nightmare on the radio on NPR and in print soon with the NYTimes. Thank you so much for your signatures and support--it means the world!