Sign up to stay informed and get involved with Stop the Bleed.
Healthcare costs—especially for families caring for medically fragile children—are an issue that deserves serious attention. While I have my own views on improving affordability and access, I also believe it’s critical to hear directly from parents and advocates who have lived through these situations. On a personal level, my son was in NICU after he was born and I wondered how families in this situation kept working. On a policy level, it’s on both a state and federal level. The biggest issue is how to shop around and why are there state lines on insurance. For a drug that takes 15 years to develop, it can’t cost just over $2 but insurance companies should take on the risk. There is a capitalist way to open up options to compete. Health insurance could be issued by age, for example there should be no pre-existing conditions for a baby. A bigger cost is charity care as uncollectible but others with insurance go to collections. This is especially true for for-profit hospitals that use this as deduction towards profit. Don’t give them straight money but rather give an incentive off their tax bill, for example pro bono services in a private hospital needs to be incentivized. In NJ, the hardest part is how long families have to work beyond their original plan or max out credit cards to keep up. Who is advising legislators? It should be someone with the actual experience. There are 2 sides, both the doctors and patients are frustrated. Hospitals are not supporting staff with wages due to their bottom line. Price transparency is important. If you have insurance, they only pay part. How do families find resources? A current legislator is a doctor, others may need a reality advisor, hold a focus group, and fix legislatively. There should be a mechanism in place for example planning for long-term care. Someone could be in the best financial shape but illness can wipe out anyone and there needs to be protections. Legislators don’t realize the situation until they’re involved themselves. In summary, my main concerns are state borders on insurance, should be able to compete, and as far as bankruptcy there should be a mechanism to prevent this.