Thirteen-year-old Isabella Peiffer was diagnosed with Stage 5 kidney failure two years ago.
At the time, her family was told Isabella needed a kidney transplant or would have to be on dialysis until she died. Last year, she received that transplant, but the Longview girl will remain on medication for the rest of her life.
Just one of those medications costs $1,000 per month. For a family of six with only one income, the life-sustaining drug would eat up about half of their monthly income. Fortunately, Isabella’s transplant and drug costs are covered by the Medicaid program, said her stepmom, Sandy Peiffer.
“If it wasn’t for her having Medicaid, we couldn’t afford insurance,” Peiffer said. “Medicaid has really saved our family from, one, being homeless, or two, not having a daughter.”
The Peiffers were one of three Southwest Washington families to share their stories with Gov. Jay Inslee during a roundtable discussion about Medicaid at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center. The governor met with the families, hospital staff and local pediatricians to hear from them how Senate Republicans’ plans to cut Medicaid could impact the community.
“I came here today because Medicaid really should be called Medi-kid, because that’s what’s at stake,” Inslee said. “We hope Washington, D.C., will not do damage to our kids.”
Betty Jo Poser’s 3-year-old grandson, Jed Beardshear, relies on Medicaid coverage to see specialists and therapists who have helped the boy, who has autism and a benign brain tumor, to become verbal. Jed’s mom is a single mother working a minimum-wage job, Poser said. She couldn’t afford the care her son needs without the program, Poser said.
“Without the help, this little boy won’t have a normal life,” the Camas grandmother told Inslee.
Republican plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act would cut Medicaid funding over time, Inslee said. That means states either have to reduce the number of people on the program or cut the type of services that are covered, he said.
“You can sugarcoat it. You can put lipstick on it,” Inslee said. “But no matter how you put it, this proposal would cut coverage for kids like Jed.”
Melissa and Crys Letos of Kelso worry that cuts to Medicaid eligibility could squeeze them out of the program. Melissa was working toward her registered nursing degree when she got pregnant with twin sons Glen and John, now 2. Melissa Letos worries that her family won’t qualify for the Medicaid program when she finishes her degree and begins working.
That’s problematic, she said, because Glen has already had several surgeries and will need at least two more major surgeries — one on his heart and one on his back. Glen was born with a congenital heart defect and several other medical issues, including a 100 percent curved spine.
“I could never afford a 90-10 policy for a million-dollar kid,” Melissa Letos said, referring to a health plan where the insurer pays 90 percent of costs and the family pays 10 percent.
Providers at the Child & Adolescent Clinic, which has offices in Salmon Creek and Longview, expressed concerns about proposals to switch the Medicaid program to a block-grant system. The majority of the clinic’s patients are Medicaid clients; a block-grant system would make it even harder for the clinic to keep its doors open, said Dr. Wes Henricksen, a pediatrician.
And hospital officials stressed the importance of getting children into the appropriate speciality care early and not having interruptions to that care.
“Coverage for kids is paramount,” said Bryce Helgerson, president of Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center. “We’re very concerned about continuing coverage for families.”
Senate Republicans’ efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act appear on hold for now, after the most recent version of the bill failed to garner enough support and preliminary talk about repealing the law and replacing it later were quickly dismissed. Inslee said he hopes the next step is a bipartisan effort to make the ACA better, specifically by bringing more stability to the market.
The President, Inslee said, has done the opposite — threatening insurers and sabotaging the whole system. So while it appears no changes are imminent, Inslee said vigilance is important.
“Goodness knows what nonsense from Twitter could start this again,” Inslee said.
