SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
You don't have to go far to find someone without health insurance. The AP estimates there are more than 360,000 in Iowa alone. One of them, Mike Libby. He's a uninsured, part-time production tech. He suffers from an inherited disease called Crohn's.
"It causes pain, it causes irritation," said Libby.
Twenty-five year old Libby doesn't qualify for coverage from his parents or job. So to fight his disease, he has to find insurance for himself. The problem? Crohn's is considered a pre-existing condition. Insurance companies either charge him a lot for coverage, or simply won't cover him at all.
"I would call that discrimination. I would call that discrimination towards anyone with a pre-existing condition," said Libby.
Thursday's uphold of the health care reform law has Libby hoping things will change. Come 2014, insurance companies won't be able to raise rates or denying access to people like him.
"I could get affordable health insurance," said Libby.
President of Sioux City's Mercy Medical Center, Bob Peebles, seconds Libby's enthusiasm. He expects the law will reduce the 9% of Mercy patients who currently have no coverage. Peebles says the law may also save them money each year, cutting back the $15-million of cost the hospital absorbs when patients can't pay.
"We believe, both ethically and morally, everyone should have access to health care," said Peebles.
At Saint Luke's Regional Medical Center in Sioux City, officials won't support or condemn the law. They will say they don't anticipate it'll change their day to day operations.
"It hasn't made a lot of difference for us in the respect to being a community hospital, moving forward with just taking care of people," said CEO Peter Thoreen.
For Libby, it looks to be a big change. Coverage he hasn't had since college. He is worried the political battle over the law may repeal it before it's enacted, but...
"Now there is something to look forward to," said Libby.
