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Robyn-Care: Providing Extensive Care for a Sick Baby

April 21, 2012 at 4:01 PM ET by Dori Salcido

Summary:

Complications at birth are usually hard to deal with, and more than usually they are hard to pay for. Robyn's son Jax, who was born with serious genetic disorders, accumulated a $150,000 bill in his first day in the NICU, and if it weren't for the Affordable Care Act’s prohibition on lifetime dollar limits for coverage, they might have been denied assistance.

Ed. Note: This was originally published on Healthcare.gov

Robyn Martin is a remarkable woman from Maryland who shared her story of how the Affordable Care Act, the new health care law, is affecting her family’s life. In a discussion with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and other women in Maryland, Robyn spoke of her son Jax, who has serious genetic disorders, including a heart defect. After he was born, he immediately was placed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NCIU), where he spent three weeks. Jax has undergone surgery since then. The Affordable Care Act’s prohibition on lifetime dollar limits for coverage is so important to Robyn’s family.

“I don’t know how much all of his health care has cost to this point, but in five months, I know it’s got to be a lot. The first day in the NICU was $150,000,” Robyn says. “If he in five months used up the lifetime limit for him, my family would be in really dire straits.”