To: Ralph Hudgens, Georgia Insurance Commissioner
My MS is Not "My Fault"
Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens has accused people with pre-existing conditions of being at fault, and said that he would do everything in his power to be an "obstructionist" of Obamacare. We can't trust him to do his job; it's time for him to resign.
Why is this important?
I’m Keisha Kuma, a mother of three from Georgia, and I have Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Insurance companies use to label me a pre-existing condition. And now, Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens is telling me this disease is “my fault.” He really said that someone with an undetectable, debilitating and chronic disease is at fault. He actually compared my disease to a car wreck:
A pre-existing condition would be you then calling up your insurance agent and saying, 'I would like to get collision insurance coverage on my car.' And your insurance agent says, 'Well, you never had that before. Why would you want it now?' And you say, 'Well, I just had a wreck, it was my fault and I want the insurance company to pay to repair my car.' And that's the exact same thing on pre-existing insurance."
He tried to walk back his comments claiming it was a “poor analogy” but clearly he just doesn’t get it. He’s the same guy who said he would do everything in his power to be an “obstructionist” of Obamacare.
Will you stand with me to tell Mr. Hudgens that his actions are unacceptable and sign this petition calling on him to resign?
When I was first diagnosed in 2010 I was admitted into the hospital for 10 days to learn how to walk again after the left side of my body went numb. Walk again I did. I was able to focus on getting better because I wasn’t worried about the doctors or the bills piling up. I was able to focus on the things that mattered because I had great insurance. I didn't have to worry about becoming a financial burden to my family. But many Americans were not so lucky.
Before Obamacare, insurance companies were allowed to deny people like me health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Now the 129 million Americans who are like me and have a pre-existing condition - which is NOT their fault - do not need to live in fear.
But the man responsible for making sure Georgians like me can get health insurance is do everything he can to turn me back into a pre-existing condition. We can’t trust him to do his job and implement health care!
If Republicans in Congress and Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens had their way and repealed the law, we would go back to the old system where nearly 1 in 5 people who applied for coverage in the individual market was denied coverage.
I'm not ready to accept this. And I'm not willing to go back to a world where my health was dependent not on a condition I have, but the whims of insurance companies putting their bottom line over my health.
Join me in protecting Obamacare by demanding Hudgens resign or be removed from office.
Thank you for your support,
Keisha Kuma
A pre-existing condition would be you then calling up your insurance agent and saying, 'I would like to get collision insurance coverage on my car.' And your insurance agent says, 'Well, you never had that before. Why would you want it now?' And you say, 'Well, I just had a wreck, it was my fault and I want the insurance company to pay to repair my car.' And that's the exact same thing on pre-existing insurance."
He tried to walk back his comments claiming it was a “poor analogy” but clearly he just doesn’t get it. He’s the same guy who said he would do everything in his power to be an “obstructionist” of Obamacare.
Will you stand with me to tell Mr. Hudgens that his actions are unacceptable and sign this petition calling on him to resign?
When I was first diagnosed in 2010 I was admitted into the hospital for 10 days to learn how to walk again after the left side of my body went numb. Walk again I did. I was able to focus on getting better because I wasn’t worried about the doctors or the bills piling up. I was able to focus on the things that mattered because I had great insurance. I didn't have to worry about becoming a financial burden to my family. But many Americans were not so lucky.
Before Obamacare, insurance companies were allowed to deny people like me health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Now the 129 million Americans who are like me and have a pre-existing condition - which is NOT their fault - do not need to live in fear.
But the man responsible for making sure Georgians like me can get health insurance is do everything he can to turn me back into a pre-existing condition. We can’t trust him to do his job and implement health care!
If Republicans in Congress and Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens had their way and repealed the law, we would go back to the old system where nearly 1 in 5 people who applied for coverage in the individual market was denied coverage.
I'm not ready to accept this. And I'm not willing to go back to a world where my health was dependent not on a condition I have, but the whims of insurance companies putting their bottom line over my health.
Join me in protecting Obamacare by demanding Hudgens resign or be removed from office.
Thank you for your support,
Keisha Kuma