Our daughter must take a medication twice a day, drink medical formula and eat special medical foods in order to stay healthy. We are extremely lucky that our insurance covers a large portion but so many families are not as lucky as we are. Medical nutrition IS NOT AN OPTION.
Read moreMonth: May 2018
Zoey, Age 1
We would be absolutely grateful if our daughter Zoey’s Medicaid insurance would cover her medical food, not just her formula. I believe children with PKU should be able to have both formula and food to be able to be successful
Read moreCanaan, Age 2
Canaan is a thriving, active 2-year-old boy with a rare metabolic condition called VLCAD. He lives with his parents in Georgia. He was picked up on the Expanded Newborn Screening at 6 days old and has done extremely well due
Read moreClaire, Age 8
I want to introduce you to my eight-year-old daughter, Claire. At first glance Claire appears to be a normal 2nd grader. She loves playing soccer, gymnastics, and playing with her brother and sister. She’s silly and funny and just a
Read moreEllie and Zay
Looking at this brother and sister pair, you don’t see anything besides two happy kids. Thankfully, Zay and Ellie are happy and healthy!! You would never guess that there is anything different about them, that is, until you sit
Read moreChristopher, Age 9
Christopher is a thriving, active 9 year old boy with a rare metabolic condition called LCHADD. He lives with his parents in Atlanta. He was the first baby with LCHADD to be picked up on the Expanded Newborn Screening in
Read more
Sarah, Age 50
I am one of the oldest patients in the PNW. My parents were told to put me in an institution but they said no and found a pediatrician that put me in the first clinical trial for treatment of PKU.
Read moreJane, Age 7
Jane’s formula cost out of pocket for EEN was approximately $300 per month. Her team of health care providers attempted to obtain insurance coverage but was denied even after appeals were attempted.
Read moreDiego, Age 9
Diego is a happy and thriving 9-year-old boy from Chicago, IL with a history of intestinal atresia. This means that part of his intestine did not develop before he was born. He was on total parenteral nutrition (TPN), nutrition through
Read more
Nia, Age 3
Insurance covers my daughters medical formula but doesn’t cover her medical foods. If my daughters medical foods were covered it would help us out tremendously! Insurance believes it is not a necessity to cover medical food. Medical food is a
Read moreIsabelle, Age 2.5
Isabelle has Classic PKU. She is 2.5 years old and can have 3 grams of natural protein per day. For context, one 8 oz glass of milk has 8 grams of protein – 2.5 times Isabelle’s daily allowance. Isabelle relies
Read moreHailey, Age 17
My insurance pays for amino acid modified formula but will not provide any coverage for low protein foods. Low protein food is very expensive. Sometimes my daughter has to go without foods she needs because we simply can’t afford it.
Read more
Indigo, Age 5
It scares me to think about our daughter not having access to her medical formula. This isn’t an option for her, her life depends upon it and cost shouldn’t be a barrier for her or anyone living with a metabolic
Read moreCarter, Age 5
Our family has been fortunate enough to have very good insurance coverage through an employer which provides 90% coverage for medical foods. Out insurance covers 90% of medical foods however we have to get the providers approved by the insurance
Read moreAiden and Aaron, Ages 5 and 3
I have two boys with Phenylketonuria, ages 5 and 3. We moved recently from California to Washington state. In California we had state insurance coverage and it covered foods like pasta, bread mix, cake mix, tortillas. In Washington insurance companies
Read more
Ian, Age 12
On top of the cost of formula, I have to buy specialty foods amounting to about $200 per month plus regular grocery store items for my son, fresh fruits and vegetables. Plus groceries for rest of family. My son will then age out of coverage per current policies. I worry about what will happen, will he have an occupation that will allow him to manage the cost?
Read moreJoey
Even in Massachusetts, to get coverage for formula and food it is an absolute nightmare collaborating with insurance companies, pharmacies and clinics. I have fear each month that there will be an issue with something and I will not be able to get food or formula for my son because of a paperwork mistake or miscommunication between providers.
Read more