Monday begins “Cover the Uninsured Week” and one Iowan is telling her story to illustrate the plight of those who don’t have health insurance. Phyllis Harkey lives in Des Moines. She says she’s a single self-employed mother of two teenage boys who was recently left without health insurance after getting a divorce. Harkey says she requires medication for asthma and other chronic health issues that costs over 2000 dollars a month.
Harkey says she looked into getting insurance and says she was told a new policy wouldn’t cover pre-existing conditions, prescriptions, emergency room visits. She says it would have cost her 300 dollars a month and not even cover the prescriptions she needs. Harkey says this left her in a precarious situation.
Harkey says having enough money to buy her prescriptions could mean the difference between feeding her children and being very ill. Harkey is encouraging everyone to contact their legislators and ask them to work to see that everyone can get health insurance.