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Canutillo ISD teacher tells board Aetna denied surgery after switch from Blue Cross
Summary
Isaac Bolivar, the district's 2025–26 Teacher of the Year, urged Canutillo ISD trustees to use new state funding to address insurance problems after his surgery and durable-medication claims were denied following the district's move from Blue Cross Blue Shield to Aetna.
Isaac Bolivar, identified in public comment as Canutillo ISD's 2025'—6 Teacher of the Year, told the Board of Trustees on June 24 that a recent insurer change has left him unable to obtain medically recommended care. Bolivar said he had longstanding hip pain for which his doctor planned surgery, but that Aetna denied three months of physical therapy, injections and a surgical request as "medically unnecessary."
Bolivar told the board that switching to Aetna also left a medication supplier for a medical pump out of network and produced a claim that put a $6,000 bill on him. "I would be responsible for the bill of $6,000," Bolivar said. He described the medication as one he has used since age 17 and said being unable to obtain it would be life-threatening.
Bolivar said Blue Cross Blue Shield had covered his treatment before the change and urged the district to use new state funding from House Bill 2 to improve the insurance offering and "return to Blue Cross Blue Shield and end my nightmare with Aetna." He said he had spent more than six hours on the phone in a single month trying to identify an in-network supplier and that appeals to Aetna had been denied.
The comments came during the meeting's public-comment period and reflected a personal account rather than an administrative finding. The board heard the report on district health-plan performance later in the meeting; trustees and staff discussed costs, enrollment shifts and a possible increase in the district's contribution to employee premiums but did not record any immediate action reversing the insurer change during the June 24 session.
Bolivar's remarks highlighted the practical effect of the insurer change for at least one employee and underscored questions trustees raised about plan utilization and the adequacy of the district's network for specialized medications and durable-medical-equipment suppliers.
Board members did not vote on an insurance change at the June 24 meeting. Bolivar concluded his public comment by asking trustees to consider using new state funds to restore the district's previous insurer.
The meeting transcript shows Bolivar described the denied surgery, repeated appeals and the out-of-network medication claim; those statements are presented here as the speaker gave them during public comment.
