Introduction: To express her distress, Elizabeth Levitt, mother of three children, exclaimed, “You are thrown into this industry you know nothing about. You are so bewildered, so completely anxious. There are periods where you are depressed, and there are times when you cannot believe how much improvement there is.” One of Elizabeth’s children, Bradley, has benign congenital hypotonia, which is a disease that reduces the strength of his motor muscles. Bradley’s disease impacts his effort to walk and use his legs. In addition to her concerns as a mother of three, she is constantly concerned about her son, Bradley, who she has to watch over more carefully and give her undivided attention. At times, Elizabeth Levitt, feels as if she is alone in taking care of her son and assisting him with his disorder. Over the years, Elizabeth has learned that Bradley is enjoying his life, despite his limitations.
Thesis Statement: Although policies exist to assist with the payments and treatments of children with chronic illnesses, new programs should be made to provide emotional support to these children and their families so that the children never lose hope for their futures.
Audience: Policy makers or hospitals
Issues with specific hospitals
CHOP provides excellent immediate care
For long term care, the parents are expected to help the children physically and emotionally
Unfair expectation for young parents
Importance of Access to Health Insurance Coverage
Children need to have health insurance to ensure that they are properly cared for such as routine check ups, vaccines, and treating acute and chronic conditions, injury care
Children with private or public health insure are more likely than children without health insurance to get regular source of health care
Kids could be able to get health insurance through private coverage or public programs like Medicaid (1966) and children’s health insurance program (1997)
Adolescents were more likely not to have health insurance or have private coverage compared to young kids
Youngest age up to five were more likely to be insured and more likely to have public coverage than children between 6-11 and 12-17
Dangerous for children to lack health insurance especially if they suffer from chronic illnesses
Improvements for covering the management of a chronic illness
All plans cover essential benefits
Large health care plans are not required to cover essential benefits such as asthma or diabetes
Pay for doctor visits, lab tests, prescription medicines, preventative care, behavioral health services, hospital care, and rehabilitation
Conclusion: Plans include payments, but they fail to acknowledge the emotional stresses that these children and their families endure.