Intro

Mike During Chemotherapy

Mike is currently battling cancer, and will become terminal without immediate care. At this time he is uninsured and not receiving care, we are trying to fix this.

In August of 2011 Mike was diagnosed with stage two, metastatic testicular cancer. And although we were able to finish three rounds of chemotherapy, we were unable to get a life-saving surgery before our insurance ran out. We lost Kaiser Permanente insurance because we could not afford the monthly premiums. Kaiser won't take him back without making him jump through almost as many hoops as Disability does.

The problem is that we do not have-- adequately available to us --the government resources that were originally thought available. Mike and I live in the state of Oregon, the first resource for insurance after we lost Kaiser Permanente coverage, was the Oregon Health Plan (OHP). We applied several times and were denied. It wasn't until after I (the wife) called Senator Jeff Merkley's office that the Department of Human Services (they manage OHP, and other services) finally called us and told us why we didn't qualify. OHP has not been covering patients with healthcare since 2004, and unless you were pregnant or terminal they had to refer you elsewhere.

So we called the Department for Disability and Seniors, which in short, we don't qualify for, for a number of silly reasons. We've been told to apply anyway and appeal any denial of services. This process I was told can take a minimum of a year. Frankly we don't have that kind of time, our Doctor has made this very clear. We have applied, we haven't heard back yet.

Mike is My Hero!

Mike, at this time, is not terminal. He is still very curable and can still live a very long, full, and happy life IF we can get him insurance as soon as possible.

Navigating this financial/health-care maze has been trying, and very confusing at the best of times. But with enough patience and hard work Mike will be okay. Currently Our best option is FMIP (Federal Medical Insurance Pool) for out of pocket coverage. This is what the fundraising is for.

Thank you for you time and compassion if you would like to help please refer to the How Can I Help? page.