Twitter Moment shows exactly how devastating the GOP healthcare bill would be for one family

Lifetime caps would price out children in need of care.
 By 
Emma Hinchliffe
 on 

Before the Senate votes on its bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, many people are sharing stories of how the bill would affect them.

One story struck a chord with thousands of Twitter users this weekend. The mom of 3-year-old Ethan Vikash shared a photo of a medical bill for her son's open heart surgery. The 24-line item bill came to $231,115 for 10 hours in surgery, one week in the hospital's cardiac intensive care unit, and one week on the hospital's cardiac floor.

With insurance, Ethan's family only had to pay $500 out-of-pocket. But if Congress passes a healthcare bill that imposes lifetime caps on what insurance companies will cover, families that deal with childhood illnesses or heart conditions like Ethan's would be well beyond priced out of life-saving care.

The thread covering the cost of Ethan's healthcare got turned into a Twitter moment.

The story resonated with thousands of Twitter users who are scared about what will happen if Congress and President Donald Trump gut the Affordable Care Act's restrictions on lifetime caps.

Topics Politics

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Emma Hinchliffe

Emma Hinchliffe is a business reporter at Mashable. Before joining Mashable, she covered business and metro news at the Houston Chronicle.

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