2009-09-16
On September 9, President and
Mrs. Obama highlighted the costs associated with treating hemophilia by
inviting Nathan Wilkes, father of a
son with hemophilia, as a special guest to the Joint Congressional
Session. Nathan's son, Thomas, was
born with hemophilia in 2003 and over the past six years his family has
encountered the problem of being under-insured and has endured sky-rocketing health
costs.
The Obamas became familiar with the Wilkes family’s story
when Nathan introduced the President in
August at a Town Hall in Grand Junction, CO.
When Thomas was first diagnosed, the Wilkes family had high quality
insurance through the high tech telecommunications company that Nathan helped
found, but when the insurance company saw Nathan's claims (ranging from a few
thousand dollars to $750,000 a year for his son), they started to increase the
premiums for all the employees and their families. The company tried to find other coverage, but
no other insurance company would take them with Thomas on the policy. When
Thomas neared the $1 million cap on his policy, Nathan searched for another
option. This was just the start of the Wilkes’
long agonizing search
through many barriers to finally attain health insurance coverage for their
family.
Read more about health
reform on the ASH
Web site.
To learn more about hemophilia and other blood disorders as well
as how to become a hematology advocate, visit the Society’s public education
site Blood:
The Vital Connection.
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