Thinkprogress:
45-year-old mother and divorcee Terri Carlson knows what life is like with a pre-existing condition. She has a rare genetic disease called C4 Complement Deficiency, that involves the immune system having “inadequate levels of complement proteins,” which leaves the body more prone to infections. “[It] makes me unable to process bacteria and viruses efficiently and my body attacks itself. It’s very similar to lupus,” Carlson explained to the press.
Because she recently divorced, she has “one year left under COBRA health coverage, but after that she will have nothing to pay for numerous doctors appointments and dozens of medications.” Due to the fact that Complement Deficiency is considered a pre-existing condition by many health insurance companies, Carlson has been unable to find anyone willing to cover her following the expiration of her COBRA coverage. “I’ve looked, I’ve searched, there is absolutely no stone that I’ve left unturned. And there are no other options for me,” she told a reporter.
After fruitlessly searching for months for a way to get health coverage, Carlson decided that she had only one way to get affordable coverage: She would get married. She has set up a website called WillMarryForHealthInsurance.com and is offering to marry someone whose health insurance will cover her as well. “You know, I am not happy I was delt this deck of cards in my life. However, if I don’t fight for myself nobody will. While the goverment fights over healthcare reform people like me suffer … as drastic as it sounds, I will marry for health insurance,” she writes on the site.
No comments:
Post a Comment