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WILKES-BARRE — For Amy Zemek, the numbers are staggering.

Her daughter, Alexa, suffered a traumatic injury at birth 16 years ago, and lives with debilitating conditions including cerebral palsy, scoliosis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and blindness in one eye. She is non-verbal and developmentally delayed, and has undergone numerous surgeries.

In January, a common virus caused serious health issues for Alexa, who had to be life-flighted from Scranton to a hospital in Philadelphia, where she was treated for four days.

“Between the helicopter ride, her emergency room visits and hospital stay, the bill totalled close to $180,000,” Zemek told an audience gathered on Public Square Saturday morning.

“The hospital stay alone was over $11,000. For one of her medications, the cost of one pill was $24,” the Lackawanna County resident added.

“How on Earth would anyone be able to pay that bill without insurance,” Zemek asked.

The answer, for most Americans, is simple: They wouldn’t.

That’s why Zemek and others turned out to hear from and support U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, who came to speak in support of legislation recently passed by the House of Representatives to strengthen insurance protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions, to lower prescription drug prices and to outlaw what Cartwright calls “junk” insurance plans that are cheap and cover few of consumers’ core requirements.

Despite approval from the Democrat-controlled House last month, it appears HR 987 faces a rough ride in the Republican-controlled Senate — if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn’t block it, as he bragged about doing with numerous House measures last week, calling himself “The Grim Reaper.”

“The will of the people is what works in this country, and if we raise our voices like we did here this morning, there’s a better chance” of HR 987 going to a vote in the Senate, Cartwright said Saturday following the “call to action” on Public Square, attended by several dozen people.

He was supported and echoed by state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, as well as Zemek and other speakers who discussed the challenges their families have faced due to costs of care and efforts by insurance companies to limit coverage.

Cartwright noted that The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 — often dubbed the ACA or Obamacare — provided safeguards so insurers could not refuse to cover Americans with pre-existing conditions, but that the Executive Branch has in recent years “worked to whittle away protections.”

“H.R. 987 shores them up,” he said. “That’s why we want it to come up for a vote in the senate.”

Marlee Stefanelli, a licensed professional counselor in Lackawanna County, is a small business owner with a private practice. She purchases coverage for her family from the health insurance marketplace, another outgrowth of the ACA.

That includes coverage for son Matthew, 7, who has type 1 diabetes, diagnosed when he was 2. Stefanelli worries what would happen to Matthew once he becomes an adult if ADA protections were not safeguarded.

“He receives a Medicaid waiver which has helped so much with this diabetes treatment, but at 18 he will no longer be eligible for that,” Stefanelli said. “He would thus not be able to purchase insurance without preexisting condition protections.”

For Cartwright, that is unacceptable.

“Getting medical treatment should not leave families in a lifetime of debt,” he said.

Is there a realistic chance of Republican approval for HR 987 in the Senate? Cartwright acknowledged that of its key goals, one — streamlining approval of more, cheaper generic drugs — has some support support across the aisle.

“It’s not widespread. It’s the more courageous Republicans are for that. That’s why the people have to raise their voices,” Cartwright added.

U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, left, speaks on Public Square Saturday morning about HR 987, a bill whose goals include enhancing insurance protections for consumers with pre-existing health conditions. Looking on, from left, are Marlee Stefanelli and son Matthew, as well as Amy Zemek, daughter Alexa and husband Eric.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_64665462_1444502359081219_7867090449326931968_n.jpg.optimal.jpgU.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, left, speaks on Public Square Saturday morning about HR 987, a bill whose goals include enhancing insurance protections for consumers with pre-existing health conditions. Looking on, from left, are Marlee Stefanelli and son Matthew, as well as Amy Zemek, daughter Alexa and husband Eric. Roger DuPuis | Times Leader

By Roger DuPuis

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