As a resident of Louisa County, mom of an 11-year old, and provider of Mental health services I am writing to encourage others to join me in supporting Abigail Spanberger representing Viriginia’s 7th Congressional District in the US House or Representatives.
Ms. Spanberger has repeatedly demonstrated her commitment to supporting affordable accessible healthcare for all citizens, including children, senior citizens, and young adults. This has included advocating that coverage remain available for those with pre-existing conditions, as well as for adults 26 years and younger needing to remain on their parent’s plans while they get started on their own.
While Nick Freitas has made vague reference to protecting coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, he has failed to be clear on his plan for maintaining this coverage and has continued to support policies that do not cover pre-existing conditions. Not only has Mr. Freitas voted against Medicaid expansion, Politifact confirmed that his support of short term, inexpensive health policies does not comply with currently requirements to cover pre-existing conditions. Without these protections in place, all of us are at greater risk of difficulty in finding coverage and potentially faced with greater health costs.
It is important to remember that health costs overall are typically reduced for those with insurance coverage. So even though we pay for insurance and may have a co-payment or out of pocket expense for services, the charges are FAR less that they would be if we were not covered by that insurance plan.
It is hard to imagine how difficult it might be to handle the additional stress of paying for medical care for my daughter without insurance. Though generally healthy, she has been impacted by asthma like responses to basic illness and some other medical issues since she was very young. With ready access to doctors, testing and treatment, we have been able to learn about her medical issues and manage them with a limited amount of ongoing medication and treatment. Our insurance has allowed us to access this care at a more affordable rate. To consider the possibility of any child being denied insurance to support their medical needs because of a pre-existing condition is alarming at best. Prevention is far less costly than the intensive or emergency treatments that can come when issues are not identified early and managed pro-actively.
The stressors that greet young adults is often apparent in my work as a mental health provider. For those in their early 20’s access to health insurance can greatly smooth their path. Whether they are using their insurance coverage to access traditional medical care, mental health services, or necessary prescriptions the opportunity to remain on family insurance through age 26 allows young adults to have one less hurdle in establishing themselves as independent.
The concern about access to medical coverage is further heightened as we find ourselves navigating our way through this global pandemic. While it feels like we’ve been living in this COVID-19 lifestyle for way too long, it’s also true that we have yet to learn about the long- term impacts of COVID-19. Will prevalence of pre-exiting conditions grow? We don’t yet know. Costs of any treatment increase with time and severity of condition. Coverage allowing preventive care and early treatment, whether for COVID-19 or other conditions, tends to reduce expenses overall. Protecting access to insurance coverage for those with pre-existing conditions is a reasonable, even critical piece of maintaining a strong and healthy community.
Please consider the importance of access to insurance coverage for those you love. Even if your family is not faced with a pre-existing condition today, there is no way to know that this will remain the case. It’s stressful enough to be worried about the health of someone we love, especially a child. Knowing that insurance coverage is in place to ensure coverage and reduce family costs allows us to worry less about the money and focus more on supporting the people we love.
A vote for Abigail Spanberger will help to ensure that your family will be protected should something unexpected arise.
Ann Tourangeau
Louisa
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