Cancer-Stricken Boy Who Lost Health Insurance After Obamacare Inspires People to Turn to God
A boy with a rare type of cancer who had his health insurance plan canceled after the Affordable Care Act took effect in October is inspiring many to turn to God.
Hunter Alford is a 7-year-old boy from Gainesville, Texas, who was born with a deadly and rare type of cancer called Plexiform Hishocyne Neoplasm, and he began making headlines in late November when his family announced that he could not continue receiving his costly chemotherapy treatment after the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, took effect.
Along with technological difficulties, the Obamacare rollout in October also received criticism because it canceled millions of Americans' existing health insurance plans, even though President Barack Obama previously promised that those who liked their existing plan could keep it. President Obama then announced that he had worked out a series of loopholes to allow some Americans to keep their existing plans for another year, although insurance companies then responded by saying it would be impossible to reverse the cancellation of policies.
After WorldNetDaily reported on Alford's condition, the boy and his family have reportedly been receiving massive donations to help him pay for his final round of chemotherapy that is supposed to take place Friday. WND has managed to raise over $58,000 out of its $100,000 goal, and the boy's mother, Krista Alford, wanted to express her gratitude to the charitable efforts of strangers when she spoke to WND recently.
"People have left me messages saying they didn't really believe in God until they read Hunter's story. And now they are praying for my son," the mother told the news outlet. "One gentleman said he'd never prayed in his entire 30 years of life. He says now he's opened his eyes to a new life, and he thanks Hunter for that."
"A lot of people are sending messages like that, thanking Hunter for helping them find their way back to God. It's just so amazing."
Alford is one of several cancer patients who have had their coverage cut after the Affordable Care Act took effect in October. Another woman, Edie Littlefield Sundby, detailed her struggle with continuing treatment for gallbladder cancer after her plan was canceled in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal. "My grievance is not political; all my energies are directed to enjoying life and staying alive, and I have no time for politics."
Another woman, Debra Fishericks of Virginia Beach, Va., recently learned that her insurance plan for treating her kidney cancer will also be dropped due to the Affordable Care Act. She added that she's unable to afford any of the new plans offered under Obamacare because they get pricier and pricier due to her pre-existing condition.
"They just go up higher and higher when there is a pre-existing [condition]. There's so many unanswered questions," she recently told WDBJ-TV.