An Army veteran and his wife are considering a divorce, a devastating choice for the sake of the health of their six-year-old daughter.
Texas couple Maria and Jake Grey have been happily married for nine years but they’re now forced to consider filing for divorce so they can qualify for Medicaid – America’s federal health coverage system.
The couple’s 6-year-old daughter, Brighton, has a rare chromosomal disorder called Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, which causes hearing and vision impairments, seizures, and heart and kidney problems. Even with health insurance, they spend upwards of $15,000 a year out of pocket on her health care. Month to month proves to be a challenge for this young couple. They never seem to have enough money and are always close to falling behind on their bills.
Aside from Brighton, they also have a 2-year-old girl named Fairen to care for.
Unfortunately, due to army veteran Jake’s $40,000 salary, they don’t qualify for Medicaid and despite filing for state assistance, they’re currently sitting at number 60,000 on the waiting list.
“It’s drowning us,” says Jake.
“We’ve done everything we can do to try to keep her afloat, and we’re going to reach a point where we can’t do it and we won’t have another option. We don’t know what to do.”
Although the couple admits they love each other more today than they did when they first met, divorce is the only thing that makes financial sense for them. Because they love their two daughters, 6-year-old Brighton and 2-year-old Fairen, they have no choice but to do something drastic to keep them healthy and happy.
He has appealed to the government under the current administration but has not received any help or an adequate reply. The only thing that the Grey’s can think to do is get divorced. Then, as a single mother, Maria could qualify for health care assistance.
More details of this heartbreaking story from ‘AWM’:
Divorce is the only thing they can do to qualify. It is drastic, but they love their daughter so much and want to make sure she gets the health care she deserves. Because the government does not make health care easy for the average American – especially our United States military veterans – they are forced to break apart their family to qualify.
As a veteran, Jake gets private health insurance but is forced to pay $15,000 out of pocket every year to keep his daughter alive and well. The way he is treated is disturbing.
“It’s drowning us to try to keep up with her medical expenses,” Jake said. “We’ve done everything we can do to try to keep her afloat, and we’re going to reach a point where we can’t do it, and we won’t have another option. We don’t know what to do.”
The family prays to God that their divorce and keep their family alive. Otherwise, their lack of adequate health care will kill their beloved daughter even though Jake risked his life to fight for American freedom in the Army.
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Source: AWM
