Danielle, Age 3

Our beautiful happy and energetic three year old daughter Danielle was born at 35 weeks New Year’s Day 2016. She was diagnosed at six months with failure at thrive weighing ten pounds and was hospitalized. After days of testing she was diagnosed with GERD, FTT, inborn error of metabolism, feeding difficulty, milk protein and soy allergies. She was put on Elecare than Neonate and was bottle fed every three hours. Her first 18 months of life formula wasn’t covered by insurance $18,000. She weighed 14 pounds at 1.5 and had g-tube surgery she’s on Pediasure Peptide 1.5 and Complete Pediatric she’s 3 now and has never eaten food. After two years non coverage our employer switched to another plan which covers after we pay the first $3,500 per year.
Insurance info: We pay for our three year old daughter the first $3500 than insurance covers at 100 percent for the year. Our prior insurance for two years didn’t cover medical food we paid $18,000 a year out of pocket which resulted in two maxed out credit cards and financial stress were still dealing with today.

The Medical Nutrition Equity Act will provide key support for those Americans who rely on medical foods to survive and thrive.