Based on my (limited) knowledge of the Tim Leary case there are a number of inaccuracies or mis-recollections in Charles Platt's account.
Tim had had intermittent contact with cryonics (and Alcor in particular) since the late 1970s (he spoke at one of the early Alcor conferences in the late 1970s). He was the keynote speaker at the opening of Alcor's first permanent (owned) facility in Riverside, CA in the mid-1980s and he had consistently been friendly to cryonics and both a public and private advocate. Tim knew a lot of influential people and he could (and did) occasionally facilitate contacts that were interesting if not invaluable.
Shortly after he spoke at the Alcor facility dedication Keith Henson and Arel Lucas approached the Alcor Board of Directors with a proposal to get Tim cryopreservation coverage. Tim was (technically) insolvent because he was paying off massive fines to the US Federal Government as a result of his convictions and/or plea bargains on a number of criminal charges; he had returned to the US in a negotiated deal after escaping prison and fleeing to Algeria. Keith and Arel had put together a group of people who had agreed to purchase a life insurance policy on Tim and to pay the premiums. The amount they had been able to secure commitments for was under the minimum then required. Alcor agreed to take Tim at marginal cost and Jerry Leaf agreed to waive his fee for cryoprotective perfusion and any standby that might be required (providing Tim arrested in the greater LA area). This was not done primarily because Tim was perceived as a good public spokesman for cryonics, but rather in spite of his activities in this regard. Tim could be charming and he was generally well liked by Alcor management and members. More to the point, for good or ill, Timothy Leary was a figure of critical historical importance; one of the few people who genuinely perturb and lastingly change the culture. While I disliked much of what Tim advocated I could not help but be impressed with his relentless and surprisingly effective challenge to the powers that be. He had done Alcor a number kindnesses and, given the contributions from Jerry Leaf and those who paid for Tim's insurance, I thought it reasonable to extend him coverage and what amounted to a modest discount. Further, the government levy on his income was something that I (and I believe most others on the Alcor Board at that time) felt was unjust.
Alcor did not require ownership of life insurance policies for cryonics funding then, but did require verification of funding in the form of double-billing (and this was done). Tim completed the required paperwork and was signed up.
I have no knowledge of the circumstances of Tim's switch to CryoCare (why or how he made this decision) and by that time my contact with him was sparse and unrelated to cryonics. Brenda Peters might know more about the mechanics of this change. Keith and Arel would likely know the details of how Tim was funded with the (donated) life insurance policy.
When Tim became ill I became fairly intimately involved with his medical care (or lack of same). Tim presented with the complaint that he had metastatic (terminal) prostate cancer. I could find no solid documentation of this. I arranged to have lab work done and his (prostate specific antigen) PSA was more consistent with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) than prostate cancer. His initial lab work also disclosed that he had active Hepatitis C along with hemochromatosis and severe iron overload; his plasma was a brilliant fluorescent yellow. Tim was incredibly non-compliant and repeatedly failed to show-up for imaging tests (MRI and CT with contrast) which I scheduled for him. Eventually (fast running out of imaging centers who would see him) I accompanied him to an imaging center and reviewed his films. Neither I nor the consulting radiologist could see any evidence of metastatic (or local) prostate cancer.
As an aside, it is my impression that Tim's medical care and "diagnosis" of cancer were, simply put, incompetent. As an example, his primary care physician had prescribed inhaled nitrous oxide for pain... A competent internist was brought in on the case and (since no discrete terminal pathology was identified) an attempt was made to address the life-threatening condition that was present; severe malnutrition with marasmus. A month's worth of daily dispensing boxes were loaded with vitamins and other supplements and supplies of a quality liquid nutritional supplement (with sufficient protein and calories to reverse his malnutrition) were purchased and placed in the home. This was done at BioPreservation's expense. Follow-up visits disclosed that none of these things were being consumed and the environment in the home was chaotic and not responsible. The one person who was genuinely caring and responsible, an assistant to Tim named "Sibboan" (pronounced She-ban) was shortly fired by Tim for trying to protect others in the household from infection with Hepatitis C (which has a ~50% mortality rate); Tim's exposed skin was covered with weeping, virus laden lesions as a result of sunlight-induced damage due to his extreme iron overload.
As Tim continued to deteriorate his chaotic home situation (irresponsible and often drug intoxicated people came and went from the home round-the-clock) put him at serious risk of injury or death from negligence (= autopsy). There was no attention to his personal hygiene and he was frequently dirty and sometimes left for hours in waste-soiled clothing. Tim refused to enter hospice care even when his serum albumin dropped below 2.5 g/dl and it was apparent he was actually dying of malnutrition. At that point I arranged for Dr. David Crippen (currently head of the neurovascular intensive care unit at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) to fly out and work with Tim. Dave had a long history of interest and involvement in the 1960s cultural movement that had, in many ways, been fomented by Tim, and it was my hope that he might be able to establish an influential bond with Tim. This was, in fact, the case and Dave mangled to get Tim into hospice and to put in place a reasonable program for terminal palliative care. Dave made himself available to Tim on a 24-hour basis by phone, and Tim often called him at all hours of the day and night. Dave was, in this way, able to manage and sometimes prevent assorted crises related to Tim's medical care.
I do not know much about the mechanics of Tim's relationship with CryoCare vis a vis finances or logistics. I was told by Tim, shortly before he died, that the insurance policy had been re-assigned to his son, Zach. At one time Zach indicated that the proceeds would be used to pay Celestis to put some of Tim's ashes in near earth orbit.
Not including Tim's medical management, lab fees, travel expenses, imaging costs, and the cost of supplements and liquid nourishment, BioPreservation incurred roughly $5,000 in marginal costs for Tim's standby. Tim declined to pay this. This money was eventually recouped (I believe from CryoCare) largely due to Brenda Peters' efforts.