Linda Tayyun

Linda’s brother, Michael, worked in manufacturing for nearly 30 years until he was laid off in 2009. He also lost his health insurance, could not afford COBRA, and private insurance denied him coverage because of his preexisting condition, Hepatitis C. In 2010, Michael was diagnosed with acute liver disease and received free treatment from Nashville’s public hospital, Meharry. But there was a catch. Michael’s doctors said that the only potentially life changing option for Michael was a liver transplantation but because he did not have insurance benefits that permitted consideration of liver transplantation, they could not initiate the transplant.

Linda called TJC. TJC worked with her to get medical and financial approval for Michael’s transplant. TJC worked with the attorney general’s office and TennCare’s lawyers to ensure that TennCare would pay for the surgery. Michael was placed on the liver transplant list and on November 20, 2010, Michael received his new liver.

Photo Credit: Jim Hagans