How To Help Sick Kids Get Better When InsuranceIsn’t Enoug (NAPSA)—Imagine this: You take your child to the doctor thinking she has an infection. You discover she has a life-altering condition and your health insurance doesn’t coverall the costs. The Bells That’s what happened to Alicia Bell when her daughter Karis was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. SaysBell: “There are no vacations from being a parent and there are no vacations from being a parent q " of a T1D child.” Bell was not only surprised at her daughter’s diagnosis, she was further amazed to find her insurance wouldn’t pay for all the diabetic testing supplies Karis would need. The Problem The Bell family is far from unique. Each year, more and more Americans are forced to choose between paying for lifesaving treatments and for food, housing andutilities. People maycut pills in half, skip meals or housing paymentsor declare bankruptcy. An estimated 29 million Americans are underinsured and over 60 percentof all bankruptcies in the U.S. are related to medical expenses. In the Bells’ case, Alicia would needto go into serious credit card debt just to pay for her daughter’s diabetes monitoring and testing supplies. An Answer Fortunately, when health insurance is not enough, there is a group that helps close the gap, putting life-changing medications within reach for thousands of people in need and helping to pay for prescription drug copayments, deductibles and health insurance premiums forcritical medical treatments. A HealthWell Foundation Pediatric Assistance grant not only pays for Karis’s supplies—including an insulin Karis Bell can now get the medical equipment she needs to stay healthy. monitor, so Karis doesn’t have to have her finger stuck several times a day— it pays the co-insurancefor her hospital and clinic visits and will help pay for an insulin pumpif and when she needsone. The Foundation An independent 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization, HealthWell has served as a safety net for more than 225,000 underinsured patients. Eligibility is based on the family’s medical, financial and insurancesituation. HealthWell’s Pediatric Assistance Fund is specifically designed to provide financial assistance to children 18 years old or youngerliving with chronic orlife- altering conditions that their families are struggling to treat due to cost when health insuranceis not enough. Learn more byvisiting www.healthwellfoundation.org/pediat ric-assistance-fund. What You Can Do You can be a part of the solution with a tax-deductible gift that will enable children to access the life-changing treatment they desperately need. To help, visit www.healthwellfoundation.org andclick on Ways to Give.
