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[Stacey Lihn -Voiceover] Give him a kiss… give him a big kiss!
[Stacey] Mwah!
[Stacey] My name is Stacey Lihn. I’m from Phoenix, Arizona, and the Affordable Care
Act is saving my daughter’s life.
[Stacey-VO] I was still pregnant with Zoe when she was diagnosed with a congenital heart
defect. And I was just in shock. I mean, we were sitting in that room thinking, ‘Can
you survive with a heart defect?'
[Stacey] The doctor proceeded to tell us there’s actually a set of three open heart surgeries
required for her to survive. So her first surgery took place at 15 hours old. Her second
surgery took place at 4 months old, and she’s awaiting her third, and final, surgery so
that her half-a-heart works for her entire body. After that third surgery you can
kind of relax and, and start living a more normal life.
[Caleb Lihn] Come on, Zoe.
[Stacey] Before the Affordable Care Act, health insurance companies were allowed to set lifetime
caps on how much coverage each individual was provided. By six months of age, Zoe was
halfway to her lifetime cap.
[Zoe] Apple.
[Caleb] That's an orange.
[Caleb Lihn] The thought of her hitting that cap and not having the opportunity to continue
on health insurance is frightening, because we can’t pay those medical bills. I mean
that’s why we pay premiums.
[Stacey-reading] Said the mother sheep to her child.
[Stacey] You know, here’s insurance that you’ve been paying for for the past twenty
years, but, oh, don’t get sick. Don’t have a child that was born with a heart defect,
because once you reach a certain limit, you know, we’re not going to insure them anymore.
[Caleb-VO] The thought of the Affordable Care Act being repealed is something that actually
gives me anxiety, and I probably consciously think about it once a week.
[Stacey-VO] I can’t even fathom what’s going through the minds of people who want
to repeal the health care act. They’re choosing life or death for many, many Americans.
[Caleb] It’s just so scary because the Affordable Care Act benefits not only our family, but
every family who's affected by some pre-existing condition or a condition that may require
a lifetime of medical care.
[Stacey] Say, bye.
[Caleb] Bye, girls
[Stacey Lihn] It’s sort of a state of denial. Like, well that couldn’t happen. Why would,
why would that happen? Why would they take (tears).. Why would they take that away from us?
[Sobs]
[Oldest Lihn Daughter] Watch out, Zoe!
[Zoe] Slide.
[Caleb] Slide, yes. You want to try the swing?
[Zoe] Swing.
[Caleb] Swing, yeah.
[Stacey-VO] Zoe’s made us live a little bigger and a little brighter every day, so
we don’t take anything for granted.
[Stacey] To give my daughter the best chance at life, my family needs the Affordable Care
Act to stay intact.
[Music]