Sarah works for a health care center in Cedar Falls that offers specialized services for persons with mental challenges, physical challenges, or traumatic injuries. They offer her health insurance but for the first year they would not cover any pre-existing conditions. This means she will have to pay out of pocket to treat her Crohn’s until that year is up. Also, her doctor at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is not covered under her employer’s group plan. So, she will likely have to find a new doctor.

She was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when she was 15 years old. This diagnosis did not come without its own struggle. Doctors were sure that her appendix had burst and immediately removed it. After the appendix was removed Sarah was left with a fistula on the inside of her abdomen, this made her sick, constantly. Immediately following high school Sarah was too sick to start college. For this reason she was dropped from her parents’ health insurance. It was then she applied for Title XIX Medicaid but was denied. “They didn’t want to help, so I had to let the medical bills pile up.” Four years later she found herself $180,000 in debt and was forced to file for bankruptcy. (In Feb. of ’04)