Ferhat & his family fled Turkey after facing political persecution due to an attempted coup and rising authoritarian regime. Despite having a biomedical PhD and full-time job as a science teacher at a charter school in San Antonio, Ferhat’s family was caught in the family glitch.
This meant his wife had to go through a high risk pregnancy without insurance. They had lost their first daughter due to a premature birth, and had an uphill, high-risk pregnancy for their second daughter.
Being in the family glitch meant Ferhat could get coverage from his employer, but his wife and child could not be added to his plan at an affordable price. And since they had any insurance option from an employer, they also couldn’t get an affordable plan through the ACA marketplace.
Ferhat paid a premium of $70/month. Adding his wife and child to the plan would’ve cost the family $1100 more each month. This is almost a quarter of his salary.
When his wife was pregnant, she delayed care until the 2nd trimester. She eventually found a low-cost clinic, where the doctor diagnosed her with gestational diabetes. Left untreated, that could lead to stillbirth, early delivery, and other serious complications.
The doctor was worried & frustrated she waited so long. But she had no better options.
They started paying for care out of pocket, taking her to the ER when they had to. They never managed to get the specialty care she needed.
Fortunately, with a stroke of luck, today mom and the baby are healthy and well. But the journey was stressful and needlessly dangerous.
Biden’s recent proposed rule would open up the #CA to family members currently in the family glitch.
“Thanks to this,” says Ferhat, “I believe no more families will experience this weird and painful situation.”