Chicago Woman Was Pregnant with Zika, Now Owes Thousands

Debra Gittler, a 36-year-old single Chicagoan, was the first high-risk pregnancy case for Zika exposure in Chicago. Thankfully her daughter, Ezra, is healthy, but now Gittler is plagued with more than $6,000 worth of medical bills due to her insurance carrier — Aetna — refusing to cover ultrasounds and blood work, CBS Chicago reports.

For the past five years, Gittler spent her time between Chicago and El Salvador. As the founder and executive director of an educational NGO, ConTextos, based in El Salvador, Gittler was exposed to the virus while working abroad, she told The Chicago Tribune.

Once the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the possible connection between Zika and fetal brain deformation in Jan., Gittler moved full-time to Chicago.

“When I knew I was pregnant, I called my insurance company to review, and they said I had 100 percent maternal health care, that it was all covered,” Glitter told CBS Chicago.

Gittler's doctors at Northwestern University's Prentice Women's Hospital required her to take bi-weekly ultrasounds, do special blood work, and undergo brain scans for her baby since she had contracted the virus.

Although Aetna "includes 100 percent prenatal coverage," only doctor's visits are covered in full. Gittler's additional ultrasounds, blood work and labs weren't taken care of by Aetna.

"What does my insurance company think happens during a prenatal appointment? You urinate in a cup, get an ultrasound, give blood, repeat," Gittler said in The Chicago Tribune. "For a pregnancy with Zika, I'll repeat these steps every two weeks."

Now, Gittler is left with an estimated $6,000 bill from the lack of coverage, CBS Chicago said.

According to the CDC, as of Aug. 25 there are 624 pregnant women with lab evidence of Zika in the U.S. states and DC. The CDC recommends testing susceptible pregnant woman for Zika, yet these women may suffer severely from the expenses if their insurance doesn't cover ultrasounds and blood work.

Gittler noted in The Chicago Tribune that if she stayed in El Salvador, an emergency room ultrasound at an elite private hospital would cost her $42. In the U.S., her ultrasounds costed her hundreds or thousands of dollars each.

"I'm relieved to be back home in Chicago. And grateful for world-class doctors at world-class facilities," Gittler told The Chicago Tribune. "But my health insurance in America is just as Third World as the country where I was exposed to Zika in the first place."

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