A couple in Ohio has been married for thirty years. They love each other very much, their marriage is working well, and they have raised some children together. Unfortunately, the wife needs a liver transplant, and the husband’s insurance does not cover the full cost of it. If the couple decides to get divorced, this could open up her eligibility for insurance coverage.
One of the vows that people make on their wedding day is “in sickness, and in health”. When two people, who truly love each other, get married, they are hoping that this marriage will last them their entire lives. They picture a life filled with happy times, raising children, and growing old together. Some people are lucky enough to actually have a loving, functional, satisfying marriage. It often takes work to sustain it, but there plenty of couples who are willing to put in the necessary effort.
On the other hand, we know that half of all marriages end in divorce. Frequently, the reason why a couple decides to divorce comes down to “irreconcilable differences”. Sometimes, the marriage ends due to abuse, or infidelity, or problems involving addictions. A couple in Ohio is considering the idea of getting a divorce in order to get the health insurance coverage that the wife desperately needs.
Dave and Terri Watkins live in Ohio, and have been married for thirty years. Terri has been diagnosed with a rare genetic form of cirrhosis, called Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. This disease has caused Terri’s liver to malfunction.
Her liver doesn’t produce enough of the protein that is required in order to rid her body of harmful toxins. She cannot work, and she cannot drive, because some of the symptoms of her disease can leave her in an unresponsive state. What she has is a form of end stage liver disease, and the only cure is for Terri to have a liver transplant.
Dave does have health insurance, which he gets from his employer. It covers both him and his wife. However, recently Dave’s employer decided to change insurance carriers, in an effort to save money. The new insurance company considers a liver transplant to be “elective surgery”. This means that the insurance company will only cover $50,000 towards the cost of the surgery that Terri needs, when, in reality, the cost will be closer to $500,000. That is a huge amount of money to come up with out-of-pocket, and Dave and Terri cannot afford to do that on their own.
If the couple chooses to get a divorce, this would change things. Terri would no longer be covered by Dave’s health insurance. Terri would be eligible for disability, since she is unable to work, due to the fact that she has end stage liver disease. This type of disability insurance is a program run by the federal government. This means if the couple got divorced, then the government would, potentially, pay for Terri to have the liver transplant that she desperately needs. It is so sad that these two people may have no choice except to get divorced, in order to save Terri’s life.
Image by Valerie Everett on Flickr