Jeana Lynn
Member
I have drafted this letter specifically regarding annual/lifetime caps on pre-existing conditions. I need to verify the costs of my hospital stays, but are there any changes I can make? I value your expedient input Thanks!
I have Cystic Fibrosis, a pre-existing condition. Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic condition that primarily affects the respiratory and digestive systems. Despite medical obstacles, I attended college, received a teaching degree and spent twelve years teaching middle school. Although I loved what I did, I finally came to a point in my life that I medically could not continue teaching. I took a medical retirement and have a retirement insurance plan.
I have been carefully watching the status of the proposed health care plans as it has a tremendous affect on anyone with a pre-existing condition, in particular someone with a chronic condition that requires ongoing care.
While I am pleased to see that people like myself with a pre-existing condition will not be denied coverage and will not face higher premiums according to the Senate health care proposal, there is one key component that will keep most people with pre-existing conditions from keeping coverage with this plan, and that is allowing caps (annual and lifetime) to be reinstated.
Let's pretend for a moment that the lifetime maximum on an insurance policy is one million dollars. That might not sound bad until you begin looking at the medical costs for a person with Cystic Fibrosis (or even cancer). Just one of my medications costs $300,000 per year. One of my cheaper medications costs $21,000 per year. I take over 20 medications daily. I am in the hospital three times a year and most people with CF spend about two weeks in the hospital each time. The daily cost of a hospital room is about $10,000 per day. That adds up to about $420,000 per year for those hospitalizations. This is just a part of the medical expenses I will encounter each year. In addition, it is predicted that I will need a double-lung transplant within the next few years. That cost was estimated by UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) to be over $1,000,000. Easily, within one year, I will have reached the lifetime maximum on my insurance.
This is what people with pre-existing conditions face for the continuous care required daily to stay alive.
Please do not allow insurance companies to reinstate the annual and lifetime caps. This will literally cause the death of anyone that needs continuous medical care, like myself.
Thank you for your time,
Jeana Hayes
I have Cystic Fibrosis, a pre-existing condition. Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic condition that primarily affects the respiratory and digestive systems. Despite medical obstacles, I attended college, received a teaching degree and spent twelve years teaching middle school. Although I loved what I did, I finally came to a point in my life that I medically could not continue teaching. I took a medical retirement and have a retirement insurance plan.
I have been carefully watching the status of the proposed health care plans as it has a tremendous affect on anyone with a pre-existing condition, in particular someone with a chronic condition that requires ongoing care.
While I am pleased to see that people like myself with a pre-existing condition will not be denied coverage and will not face higher premiums according to the Senate health care proposal, there is one key component that will keep most people with pre-existing conditions from keeping coverage with this plan, and that is allowing caps (annual and lifetime) to be reinstated.
Let's pretend for a moment that the lifetime maximum on an insurance policy is one million dollars. That might not sound bad until you begin looking at the medical costs for a person with Cystic Fibrosis (or even cancer). Just one of my medications costs $300,000 per year. One of my cheaper medications costs $21,000 per year. I take over 20 medications daily. I am in the hospital three times a year and most people with CF spend about two weeks in the hospital each time. The daily cost of a hospital room is about $10,000 per day. That adds up to about $420,000 per year for those hospitalizations. This is just a part of the medical expenses I will encounter each year. In addition, it is predicted that I will need a double-lung transplant within the next few years. That cost was estimated by UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) to be over $1,000,000. Easily, within one year, I will have reached the lifetime maximum on my insurance.
This is what people with pre-existing conditions face for the continuous care required daily to stay alive.
Please do not allow insurance companies to reinstate the annual and lifetime caps. This will literally cause the death of anyone that needs continuous medical care, like myself.
Thank you for your time,
Jeana Hayes
