First off, my apologies to Mary Lou Retton. Of all of the things you have done in life, I am sure getting sick and becoming a cautionary and informational tale about health insurance and medical costs were not things you would have chosen. But here you are, and I hope you understand the power in your name.
The short story, she got sick and was hospitalized. Her daughters created a crowd-funding to pay for her medical costs, saying she had no insurance. Due to name recognition her story is all over the media. I have no idea of which personal facts are true, and her situation's relevance only matters to this post because it helps to create more awareness due to her name recognition and the publicity because of it.
The NPR story highlights some issues in the US health insurance situation. Even after all these years, there is still a lack of awareness of the health insurance opportunities offered by the Affordable Care Act and the health insurance marketplace.
I have no idea of Retton's income or net worth, so whether she could really afford health insurance, or the medical costs of her ailment is irrelevant. There are so many people who do not have the resources individually or through their network of friends and admirers to cover medical costs when they arise. It is important to make sure that we do a better job of sharing the knowledge of these external resources.
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