Abby of Knoxville, TN

Abby of Knoxville, TN writes:

My name is Abby Wintker Burris. I am originally from Nashville, but now I live in Knoxville. I am 40 years old and worked in the non-profit sector for 10 years. Currently, I am a graduate student at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. I am working towards a masters in information science. Once I get my degree, I hope to work in communications or marketing at UT Knoxville.
Before the ACA, I was considered uninsurable because I was diagnosed with anxiety when I was younger. For a while, I had TennCare. Although I wanted to pay for a policy, and pay my own way, I was unable to because I was considered uninsurable. Later, I had a private insurance plan. My employer and I shared the cost for this plan. When I had this plan, I would only use it for huge emergencies. Also, because I had a pre-existing condition, the insurance plan that I am my employer were paying for, would not cover certain aspects of my care. The insurance company sent me a notice that they would not pay for anything related to “neurological disorders.” I think this was their way of saying they would not pay for care related to my anxiety. This really impacted my relationship with my doctor. In the examination room, my doctor and I had to make decisions about how to code my care and my doctor could not write what we had actually discussed.
I want my Senators to represent the needs of the constituents and to represent the voices of Tennesseans. As they go about their deliberations and their work representing us, I want them to think about our health. What they do now will affect us for generations. I want them to think of this issue in terms of the health of Americans and not just as a policy, political, partisan, or financial decision. People will look back on this time and see we did the right thing based on our health and the desire to take care of each other or they will see we did the wrong thing by putting profits over people.

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