Greeley woman talks health care challenges, worries about the repeal of the Affordable Care Act

Feb. 23--Shortly after Kim Frederick-Law and her husband moved to Greeley, she discovered she was pregnant.

She had just started working part time after being laid off from a full-time job with benefits in Denver. Her husband just started working at a new job, and they didn't immediately have insurance.

Because of the gap, it took almost four months to get the first ultrasound. It was then she learned she was pregnant with identical twins.

Complications from the birth caused one of her sons, Jack, to be born with cerebral palsy. He's needed therapy, surgery and medications. Now 11, he still requires some expensive medical care. She worries now about what will happen to her and her family if the Affordable Care Act is repealed, which became much more likely after November's election.

That concern led her to share her story on a Facebook Live stream Tuesday with Healthier Colorado, an advocacy group based in Denver. She's also been active in requesting meetings with Sen. Cory Gardner. This past week, she delivered 19,000 signatures, collected statewide, to request a meeting with the senator in Greeley as a part of Greeley Indivisible. So far, her attempts have been unsuccessful, though according to a press release, Gardner said he looks forward to meeting with Coloradans this week about the health care system.

Frederick-Law said she hopes sharing her personal story will help people talk about health care beyond the politics.

"I know I'm not alone," Frederick-Law said. "In starting to talk more about my story, I've been hearing others' stories too."

Frederick-Law went into labor after 31 weeks at North Colorado Medical Center. She was flown to Children's Hospital in Denver, where doctors could better support premature births.

When her two boys were born, they spent seven weeks in the NICU. The flight and the long stay meant a large bill. Insurance covered the $300,000 hospital stay, but Frederick-Law and her husband had to pay the $21,000 for the helicopter ride.

It was just the beginning of climbing medical bills. At 9 months, doctors diagnosed Jack with cerebral palsy.

"He probably had a brain bleed at birth," Frederick-Law said. "At that point, it was suggested to me that I apply for Medicaid for him."

Jack qualified, but Frederick-Law and her husband went without their own heath insurance for years.

When the Affordable Care Act expanded, Frederick-Law and her husband qualified for Medicaid.

"My husband and I now have insurance," Frederick-Law said. "Because of the fact we've had that, we've been able to pay off debts that we were floundering under. It's a huge peace-of-mind thing for us to know if we get really sick, we won't go really under."

If the act is repealed, she's worried coverage for Jack will change and she and her husband will lose their safety net.

Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., who did not take part in the Facebook streaming event, said folks don't have to worry about changes to the health care system. A repeal wouldn't take place until a replacement was in effect, he said. He hopes a transition will happen by some time next year.

Buck said he thinks a solution that emphasizes privately run health insurance companies will help people in the long run.

"In every other area in our economy, consumer choice increases choice and quality and forces down costs," Buck said.

Buck went on to say he wants to hear from his constituents about possible solutions. He thinks Republicans should be listening to folks in the community as well as health care providers through open hearings, debate and dialogue to come up with a bipartisan solution, he said.

Jake Williams, executive director with Healthier Colorado, said the debate over the Affordable Care Act repeal is complicated. The Facebook Live event gave folks a chance to decode and discuss the issue over common terms and experiences.

"We want to make sure regular people have a voice in the debate," Williams said. "It's very much a beginning of a larger discussion and engagement."

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