"Sarah Monroe once had a relatively comfortable middle-class life. She and her family lived in a neatly landscaped neighborhood near Cleveland. They had a six-figure income and health insurance through her job. Then, four years ago, when Monroe was pregnant with twin girls, something started to feel off. "I kept having to come into the emergency room for fainting and other symptoms," recalled Monroe, 43, who works for an insurance company."
"Within a year, as she juggled a serious illness and a pair of newborns, Monroe was buried under more than $13,000 in medical debt. Part of the reason: Like tens of millions of Americans, she had a high-deductible health plan. People with these plans typically pay thousands of dollars out of their own pockets before coverage kicks in. The plans, which have become common over the past two decades, are getting renewed attention thanks to President Donald Trump and his GOP allies in Congress."
Sarah Monroe had a middle-class life with employer-based health insurance until pregnancy complications and a subsequent heart condition left her with more than $13,000 in medical debt. High-deductible health plans require thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket spending before coverage begins. These plans have grown common over two decades. Some Republican lawmakers oppose extending Affordable Care Act subsidies and have proposed giving cash to people without employer coverage via special health accounts paired with high-deductible plans. Such arrangements can lower monthly premiums while exposing individuals to annual deductibles that can top $7,000 for an individual plan.
Read at www.npr.org
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