Patient Dies by Suicide After Insurance Delay Held Up His Lung Disease Medicine

A Texas man named Kenney Blewett had a serious lung disease called COPD, which made it very hard for him to breathe. In June 2025, his doctor wrote him a prescription for a new medicine to help with his worst breathing episodes. But the medicine was delayed because of an insurance problem. Days later, Blewett died by suicide, and his wife Cindy is still searching for answers.

Kenney had been diagnosed with COPD — short for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — more than ten years before his death. This year, he started having sudden episodes where he felt like he could not breathe at all. His wife Cindy described these episodes as 'the scariest thing in the world.' Simple tasks like taking out the trash left him out of breath, and he had lost 45 pounds.

On June 2, Kenney's lung doctor wrote him a prescription for a liquid medicine that he could breathe in through a device called a nebulizer. Two days later, Kenney got an email from Walgreens saying his medicine was delayed 'due to an insurance issue.' Cindy said her husband was hopeful that the new medicine would help him feel better. 'I wish we had the chance to find out,' she said.

Insurance delays are a big problem across the United States. A recent poll found that nearly 7 out of 10 adults call them 'a major problem.' One common cause of delays is a process called prior authorization, where an insurance company must approve a treatment before the patient can get it. This can slow down care — sometimes in very serious ways.

Kenney had several different insurance plans, which made things even more confusing. He had Medicare Parts A and B, which is a government health insurance program for older adults. He also had a private drug plan and a Medigap plan that helped cover extra costs. Cindy had to manage all of these plans on her husband's behalf.

Because Kenney's medicine was a liquid inhaled through a nebulizer, it was covered by Medicare Part B — not his drug plan. This is a small but important difference that led to a lot of confusion. Even pharmacy workers and medical office staff sometimes do not understand these complicated rules. Experts say the system has become very hard to navigate.

A Walgreens employee later told Cindy that the pharmacy tried to process the prescription on June 2 but that it was missing a code from the doctor's office. Walgreens says they sent a request for that code to the doctor the same day. However, an employee at the doctor's office told Cindy they never received any message from Walgreens. Neither side has publicly explained what really happened.

On the afternoon of June 7, Kenney had another frightening COPD episode. That night, while Cindy was sitting on their back porch, she heard a loud noise and discovered Kenney's body in their bedroom. He had struggled with his mental health for a long time and had attempted suicide once before. His worsening health had made things much harder for him.

Kenney left a note for Cindy, telling her she was a wonderful wife and grandmother but that his health was too poor for him to keep living. A second medicine his doctor had ordered arrived several weeks after his death. Cindy wonders whether faster access to both medicines might have changed what happened. 'Perhaps, just perhaps,' she said, 'if he had received both medications in a timely manner, he would be here today.'

The rules around health insurance in the United States are very complicated, and experts say they are getting more complex. The government recently launched a program in six states — including Texas — that uses artificial intelligence to approve some healthcare services. Doctors and patients worry this could lead to more denials and longer waits. Cindy is still looking for answers about who was responsible for the delay that may have cost her husband his life.