Patient dies by suicide after “insurance issue” delayed medicine for lung disease flare-ups

October 2, 2026 / 5:00 AM EDT / KFF Health News

Kyle, Texas — Kenney Blewett was diagnosed with lung disease more than a decade ago but started experiencing flare-ups this year that made him feel like he couldn't breathe.

Blewett described those flare-ups as "the scariest thing in the world," said his wife, Cindy, adding that while the episodes typically lasted no more than a few minutes, they had become more frequent.

On top of that, simple tasks, like taking out the trash, left Blewett winded. He rarely left the house and had recently lost 45 pounds. "That sounds like cancer," Cindy remembered one of his doctors said. It was clear, she said, that her husband's poor health, tied to decades of smoking, was getting worse.

That's why, on June 2, Blewett's pulmonologist wrote him a prescription for a new medication to improve the terrifying breathing issues caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. But the prescription wasn't immediately filled. Two days after that doctor appointment, Blewett received an email from Walgreens explaining that, "due to an insurance issue that we're working to resolve," the medication was delayed.

"He was hopeful that it would work," Cindy said of…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/