Our Family supports extending Cobra Coverage! We are a family in trouble and too many more are joining us. Too many losing their jobs and without insurance, we will have a real health crisis on our hands. Think about it, swine flu and many other illnesses without treatment will lead to a huge health crisis! Please, set aside differences and think about what the right thing to do is!  

 We are paying 1600 a month and we have paid as much as 2400 a month! Much of our medical debt wiped us out when we had to travel to hospitals that our insurance only covered 30% out of network. We had perfect credit until Mayo and we refinaced our home. We had to move to North Carolina and live in a Travel Trailer until our home slod which took 10 months! We NEVER filed bankrupsy and have paid any bills that we know are our responsibility. We do not pay ones that should be covered and wait until three years later when were with a different company. We are experiencing this with a bill over four years old from Duke. We often did not have tests to find out what they have covered and were billed as well as the first year in Ohio when we recieved IVIG every month because our insurance at the time, would not pay for IGG. That is times three! Neupogen is 400 per shot per day and if we did not recieve that from the drug company, we would have to pay that times three. We currently are taking a  short break from neupogen to see what their marrows will show. We are grateful that we have been able to get it through Amgen.

We have moved in under four years five times. We are tired and feel like we are never going to have one place to call home. Our kids have a tough road but are amazing people. Still, even if we fough the disease in a less than perfect health care and they have seen what we have gone through both good and bad. Even if they work as hard as they have in school and get a great degree from college in good economical sitiations, who will hire them?

They are often sick and even if the work without missing any, they will become a target like we have of getting long term employment as for us it is easy to pick up the phone, call your insurance provider and thus know how many claims. This is legal, they cannot know your disease name but they often see medical debts on credit reports that lead them to invesigate further. Again, if we owe the bill and it has been billed properly and within the guidlines of the insurance carrier, we work to pay such bills off. But if it is from four years back, they filed with the wrong insurance company after you are asked each visit to see your card, than sorry, we feel we do not nor should be responsible for such a bill.  If it is at a place we need care from, they can stop your care until it is made right. Sadly, this happens more often than not. It is frustrating as with three sick child and now my own health, it is a job itself to keep up with it all.

Do we stand on one political side? No we don't. We have been so diappointed in the Health Reform Bill which didn't do much at all to help any sick kids or adults and as Christians, we can't understand why health care isn't on the agenda. At many churches we were asked, can't the government do something for us. Several said whay not disability which we have looked into but a law was passed back years ago that no one under 20 can qualify for Medicare. The difference. Medicaid retrictions are much greater- Most doctors do not take Medicaid, if so it is in places you would not want to take your child. They limit you to your state and thus for rare diseases you must either move when they do or fight to get care which is a huge battle and tends to leave you stuck. Even if you do get care out of state, many hospitals won't transplant Medicaid patients from low paying Medicaid. Truth is the average Bone Marrow Transplant is over 1 million and Medicaid pays 75K, Do you think they will even tell you when your child needs a transplant? Unless you learn as we have what it means, you can loose your child because you were poor and on Medicad. That sounds against what Christ would want. Each unborn child we fight for, we should also fight for a living child. Is there a price we can put on life?

Some people are educated and had been middle class but found themselves with out a home, car, retirment just to get help. Each state is different and some are better than others. Missouri is where we lived and that is what the law was when we were there.

Medicare, on the other hand is accepted more and you can go anywhere with it. Though they continue to cut it back and less companies and doctors won't acceot them. It is money, the root of all Evil. Were sorry but we have both seen it from both sides and know it well.

Lawsuits- an family with sick children can't sue and most doctors know that. You have to be pretty smart and you have to have those willing to help. It is sad what we have done to families with illness, the weak and the sick,

That is why we have no place to turn but to God which is where I learned early in life to go and ask for help. He has been amazing to this family through some wonderful people and we have been blessed. I am so grateful but still we can't shake the others we know. We can't shake the treatment I witnessed at inner city hospitals I worked. In WIC yes, there were those who abuse but still, when you look into the eye of a hungry child, what can I beliver do?

This shoud not be a Repulican or Democrate view, it should be all of us. One day you may be in our shoes, a loved one sick and bills rolling in with poor care.

We all  want good health care reform, not another medicaid but a real program that works, along with better doctor care all over this country, more nurses, doctors and others in rare diseases! Value of life for children and adults not the insurance companies but do not want goverment that tells us what or where to go.We want the same care level that Congress, Senators and our President want and get for their families. We need better communication between doctors and patients We need brave doctor who will help your child, even if it means that a colleague you work with didn't. If you know a child has been neglicted and you seek another and they do not tell the truth or cover it up, that child become very sick or worse died from it, that is Manslughter and if the doctor refussed to provide care or investigate due to a personnel conflict, he is not abiding by the Oath he took and I am sorry, if anyone else did such a thing, it would not just mean the loose of your license but should mean jail time. Our country is 38th in health care which doesn't mean just in coverage or ablilty to get it. This also means more people die going to the hospital than in car accidents.

Until it is you or a loved one, this may seem extreme but we hold these standards to everyone esle. Rare disease are and can't be treated this harsh as they can only know what they know but they can pay attention needs and work to hold a higher standard of keeping them healthy as possible and well. We rank behind Dominica and Costa Rica! Look up statstics of your hospitals rate of saving your life through USA today report. It may not seem important until you or someone you love becomes sick or hurt.

Making health care avaibalbe to everyone seems what Christians should want and so many think Mediciad will work. If so, why are so many uninsured. This is the one area I debate on because we are born again Christians and honestly, I see insurance companies getting richer and health care gowing down. This will evetually effect everyone when disease's start to spread. Ask yourself how can we fix being 38th? There is so much more than just making certain everyone has care but that they have quality care!

We pray that oneday the sides can come together and put the people first, until then, we have a long way to go.

http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html

IN THE END, THE ONLY POWER WE EACH HAVE, IS THE GREATEST POWER THERE IS, THE POWER TO LEAVE IT ALL IN HIS HANDS AND PRAY!.

We stand for every American to be allowed the most basic need besides that of becoming His child, the right to 

                                         Life and Pursuit of Happiness

Yet only in Him do we find the truth and can still have

                         LOVE  and JOY