January 28, 2016
By: Demond Sharp, Detroit, Michigan
After I got laid off a couple of years ago and lost my health insurance, my mother told me about the Health Insurance Marketplace and urged me to get covered—for my peace of mind and hers. I thought I was healthy, but—well you know how persuasive moms can be, so I took her advice and I enrolled in a plan that started on May 1, 2014.
Then about two weeks later, my life changed.
I went to Covenant Community Care clinic on a Thursday with stomach pains. When I fainted, they sent me by ambulance to the hospital where laparoscopy determined it wasn’t appendicitis. I was then prepped on Friday for a colonoscopy on Saturday. When I awoke from that procedure, the doctor told me I had to have surgery the next day to biopsy a mass they found. The lab results came back: I had stage 3 colon cancer. I was stunned, and my mother started crying.I admit it, I was scared. But one thing I didn’t have to worry about was how I was going to afford the surgery and six months of chemotherapy. My Marketplace insurance covered nearly $489,000 of the surgery, chemo and other costs. Even better, my premium was only $150 a month after the tax credit and my deductible was about $4,500.
To know that my bills would be covered gave me a sense of peace.
Now I am cancer free and I have a full-time job with health benefits from the city of Detroit. I’m grateful that my Marketplace insurance was there when I needed it. I believe that if it wasn’t for that coverage and the Affordable Care Act, I wouldn’t be here today.
READ MORE: Demond’s #GetCovered Story: Getting Insured Just in TimeThen about two weeks later, my life changed.
I went to Covenant Community Care clinic on a Thursday with stomach pains. When I fainted, they sent me by ambulance to the hospital where laparoscopy determined it wasn’t appendicitis. I was then prepped on Friday for a colonoscopy on Saturday. When I awoke from that procedure, the doctor told me I had to have surgery the next day to biopsy a mass they found. The lab results came back: I had stage 3 colon cancer. I was stunned, and my mother started crying.I admit it, I was scared. But one thing I didn’t have to worry about was how I was going to afford the surgery and six months of chemotherapy. My Marketplace insurance covered nearly $489,000 of the surgery, chemo and other costs. Even better, my premium was only $150 a month after the tax credit and my deductible was about $4,500.
To know that my bills would be covered gave me a sense of peace.
Now I am cancer free and I have a full-time job with health benefits from the city of Detroit. I’m grateful that my Marketplace insurance was there when I needed it. I believe that if it wasn’t for that coverage and the Affordable Care Act, I wouldn’t be here today.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario