Politics & Government
Democratic National Convention Delegates Hear How 'Obamacare' Saved West Des Moines Woman from Bankruptcy
A freak fungal infection left Amy Ward and her husband with $1.7 million in health-care bills. They credit President Obama's health-care reform with keeping them out of bankruptcy as she fought to live.
A West Des Moines woman who had to learn to walk again after contracting a fungal infection was featured in a video touting President Obama’s federal health-care law at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday.
Amy Ward, 40, and her husband, Ross Daniels, were kayaking in the Boundary Waters last summer when her vessel overturned and she gulped a mouthful of water, contracting a rare fungal infection in her lungs, the Des Moines Register reported.
The Affordable Care Act lifted the $1 million lifetime cap on insurance companies, legislation the couple said saved them from bankruptcy when their costs approached $1.7 million. Treatment included a $1,500-a-dose anti-fungal drug, the Register reported.
Ward was reportedly in a coma during a Republican presidential debate last September when Texas Congressman Ron Paul fielded a question from CNN’s Wolf Blitzer about what should happen to a healthy 30-year-old who had no insurance, then slipped into a coma.
“That’s what freedom is all about – taking your own risks,” Paul responded.
When Blitzer followed up and asked if “society should just let him die,” a few people in the audience reportedly shouted “Yeah!”
“This sort of thing can happen to anybody,” he said, referring to his wife’s illness. “Do we want lifetime limits on coverage again? Limits for pre-existing conditions? Do we want to reintroduce gender discrimination on premium costs?”
This video shows Ward in her first speaking engagement after she was released from the hospital.