So, when I was 24 I got pregnant. It wasn't planned but it wasn't unwanted. I did not have health insurance. I had pretty recently graduated college and when I was in college I could see doctors at the clinic if I needed to without insurance.

So when I found out I was pregnant, I tried to sign up for insurance.
I was denied by every company I tried to sign up with. I had a pre-existing condition- my pregnancy. I tried to sign up for medi-cal but with two small incomes betwe ... en Tim and I, we made too much to qualify. I remember clearly the total panic of being pregnant and realizing I had no access to medical care. Even medical care I was willing to pay for.

Luckily Planned Parenthood advised me of a program called A.I.M that helped women like me. I paid $500 every year for 2 years and it covered my pregnancy, birth, and my baby until it ran out. And thank god it did. Because the birth alone at the hospital (vaginal birth- no complications) cost $18,000. That's the bill I would've been starting my new journey as a mother with. Not because I didn't want health insurance, or because I didn't want to PAY for health insurance, but because I wasn't ALLOWED to get health insurance.

After Jevon was born we got insurance. We had insurance until the boys were 8 and 10 maybe. Our rates reached $1000 a month for basic care with high deductibles. We finally had to get rid of insurance for Tim and I. We couldn't afford to insure the whole family.

Since Obamacare I have been able to qualify for Medicare because I am low income- first for just the boys and eventually for me too. Last year Phoenix was in the hospital for 10 days with an appendix rupture. He was really sick and it was terrifying. It took me 2 days to call my insurance to make sure it was being covered- honestly expecting the worst. You know what happened when I called the Care Oregon office? The woman on the phone told me that everything was covered. She said "honey you just concentrate on helping your son get better. You don't have to worry about any of this." I can't even think about those words today without crying. I never saw a bill for that hospital stay which I'm sure was in the hundreds of thousands. UcenterDress cocktail with green color

I'm sure this last hospital stay for Phoenix will qualify him for having a pre-existing condition. I have more than one. I love the Affordable Care Act. I really worry about what the future holds.