OH-6: Wilson Highlights The Story Of An Insurance Abuse Survivor

As the fight for healthcare reform enters it’s final stages, Rep. Charlie Wilson is highlighting the story of Desni Crock and her three-year-old daughter Bridget.

In 2008, Bridget was diagnosed with pneumonia, but later tests showed she was actually suffering from a very rare type of cancer. Luckly, the family lived just 90 minutes from a children’s hospital in West Virginia with one of the few oncologists that have successfully treated children with this cancer.

And this is when insurance stepped in.

It turned out that the hospital wasn’t part of their network, the family would be forced to pay 40% of the bills themselves. Worse, Desni had to quit her job to care for Bridget while she underwent treatment. This left Desni’s husband working nights and weekends to pay the staggering bills (over $35,000 in the first two months alone).

Wilson perhaps sums the situation up best with the line:

“I’ve met with many survivors over the years, but it’s sad that we’ve come to a point where people consider themselves survivors of insurance company abuse.

Yes, yes it is.

The good news is that Bridget and her doctors beat back the cancer through intense chemotherapy and the removal of one of her lungs.

Unfortunately even though Bridget’s cancer is in remission, Desni Crock has a new worry. At only three years old, her daughter already has a pre-existing condition. About this, Crock simply says “Financially, she’s doomed”.

But if you talk to John Boccieri or Dennis Kucinich, it doesn’t matter that she’ll have this hanging over her head for the rest of her life.