#CoverageMatters: When a ‘Sprain’ is Really Something Much Worse

I had just finished up my master’s degree. Honestly, I wasn’t worried about not having health insurance. Besides, it was only nine to 10 months before I entered the Peace Corps, and I felt healthy. But when I learned that I could stay on my parents’ plan until I turned 26 because of the Affordable Care Act, I went ahead and got included under their coverage.

I was fortunate that I did. I started getting pains in my knee, which I thought were related to a running injury. A doctor told me it was just a sprain and advised me to do some physical therapy. When the pains continued, I got an MRI – and some bad news. I had an aggressive form of bone cancer. I went through multiple surgeries, a knee replacement and chemotherapy. Without health coverage, my treatment probably would have bankrupted my family.

But my medical care was covered by my parents’ insurance—thanks to the Affordable Care Act.

The insurer actually let me stay on their plan through my 26^th birthday, considering me a disabled dependent while I was under active treatment. But before the Health Insurance Marketplace opened for 2014, I had to scramble for a job that provided health benefits.

Since then I have been able to get coverage on my own through the Marketplace, and that coverage let me move to a job that I really wanted. Today I work as an enrollment assister at the Monongahela Valley Association of Health Centers, helping other folks get covered through the Marketplace.

Some of the people I’ve helped enroll feel healthy like I once did, but I remind them that even healthy individuals need coverage and you’re never too young to get cancer, break an ankle or develop some unexpected illness.

I’m definitely one of those people who didn’t think they needed insurance. Before my cancer, I was healthy.

Five years later, I’m doing well and my cancer’s in remission. But I’m worried that Congress may do away with the protections for people with pre-existing conditions, like my cancer. It’s a scary time now. Without the law’s protections, I would be uninsurable. And I don’t know how I’d afford the lab work and annual scans to make sure the cancer hasn’t returned. I’m so thankful for the coverage I have. That’s what I told Secretary Sylvia Burwell and a room full of other West Virginians who have gotten coverage thanks to the Affordable Care Act.

You can enroll in your own coverage for 2017 right now. The Marketplace is open for business until January 31, 2017, but if you want your coverage to start on January 1, 2017, you have to sign up by December 15.

Check out your options for affordable, quality coverage at HealthCare.gov. Financial assistance may be available to help you get covered. Even if you currently have Marketplace or other coverage, you may find a better deal if you shop at HealthCare.gov. Most people who do shop can find a quality plan for $75 or less a month, thanks to financial assistance.

And you can get 24/7 help comparing plans and enrolling in coverage by calling 1-800-318-2596 or finding in-person assistance in your community at https://localhelp.healthcare.gov.

I’m sharing my story because my #CoverageMatters, just as it does for millions of other Americans. Every story is unique. Share your story on social media using #CoverageMatters.

And don’t wait. Shop for coverage today.