Letter to Senate Finance Committee on Obamacare

As promised, here is what I'm sending to Washington on our behalf:

Lisa Annette Stanley

Independent Health Insurance Agent

5711 Sugar Hill Drive, #97

Houston, TX 77057

“…putting the Caring Back in HealthCARE”

lisaannette145@sbcglobal.net

September 24, 2017

Senate Committee on Finance

Attn: Editorial and Document Section

Room SD-219

Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510-6200

GCHcomments@finance.senate.gov.

Chairman Hatch, Ranking Member Wyden and Members of the Senate Finance Committee:

“Putting the Caring Back in HealthCARE” isn’t just my Email signature, it’s a way of life for me since becoming a Life & Health Insurance Agent in 2006.

That is why I am writing to you in opposition to the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson Bill that attempts to Repeal & Replace the Affordable Care Act. It seems to me that a Health PLAN that kills people doesn’t have much caring in it.

My name is Lisa Annette Stanley, age 56 from Houston, Texas: Health Insurance Agent, Obamacare Insured & first time Grandmother.

This is my only Grandson Solomon Oliver Lanford.

Solomon has a Pre-Existing Condition for Life.

His Intestines were surgically removed at birth.

Solomon will die without CHIP.

He has a condition known as Volvulus of the Intestines 1 in 500 live births in the US are affected by this, making this one of the most common birth defects no one's ever heard of.

Volvulus of the intestine in newborns is caused by malrotation (mal-ro-tation) of the intestines at around 10 weeks of fetal development, but it is not known what causes malrotation. The progression of malrotation to the point of volvulus is a life-threatening medical emergency that requires surgical intervention.

The best way to describe an intestinal volvulus is like watering plants with a garden hose. Who hasn't had the experience of getting a kink in the hose that cuts off the flow of water?

In an instance such as this, additional complicating factors can be present. When blood & oxygen are cut off for long periods of time, healthy parts of the intestines can die & cause a septic infection of the blood. This is what happened to him.

Solomon received a blood transfusion of clean healthy blood to help stabilize him prior to the first proceedure. Step One was largely a diagnostic triage to determine how extensive his volvulus was & to allow the return of blood flow to the unaffected tissue & determine how much was salvageable.

It was then determined that Solomon's damage to his intestines was extensive enough that the potentially-life-saving second step procedure required removal of all but 15% of his intestines, causing a condition known as Short Bowel Syndrome.

Solomon will have a Pre-Existing Condition for LIFE.

If this Bill passes, Solomon may face being Uninsurable.

He may face outrageously unaffordable premiums.

He may have a Lifetime Limit put on his care if he is even offered Coverage at all.

I mentioned also that I am an Independent Health Insurance Agent that depends on Obamacare myself. At 56 year of age, I still have years to go before I can age in to Medicare.

A repeal of the Affordable Care Act would cancel the Subsidy that I depend on for my own coverage. Though I work for these insurance companies, none of them cover me, so I depend on the Health Insurance Marketplace like so many other millions of Americans – not to mention what this is doing to my PAYCHECK.

All of the political games being played with our American Healthcare system has me on the verge of bankruptcy.

As an Agent, I got into this industry 11 years ago out of a genuine interest in helping myself by helping others, going places others would not go: the Low-Income charity cases, working in the HIV/AIDS free clinic, etc. I haven't found much caring among Medicare providers - & now this nightmare of repeated attempts to Repeal & Replace Obamacare.

It's a terrible time to try to make a living in the Insurance Industry.

I need to point out what I view as stunning hypocrisy in Republican Leadership with respect to The Affordable Care Act /vs/ the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 implemented in the President George W. Bush Administration that created LIS: Low Income Subsidies for Senior Citizens on Medicare.

Is this not the same thing that President Barack Obama did for the rest of us?

Of course it is.

If it was a good idea when the Republicans created subsidies for Senior Citizens on Medicare, why is it a bad idea for the Democrats to create subsidies for working class people under the age of 65?

Can you in clear conscious look into the faces of these sweet children & deny them a chance at life because you voted to take away the Subsidy on their HEALTHCARE?

I stand in solidarity with The Little Lobbyists & the millions of others just like us concerned for the future of our children that we love.

Please vote NO on Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson Bill

& YES for Life.

Thank you for hearing our concerns,

Lisa Annette Stanley, Grandmother of Solomon Oliver Lanford, age 2 ½.