Sharon's Choice

Sharon Utiss-Thomas is a nurse working for a large health-related company, earning a good salary, and she is the mom of Branko, who has Asperger Syndrome, a form of autism. When her employer drastically reduced her pharmacy benefits in 2006, Sharon faced a tragic choice - her mortgage payment or Branko's medications at more than $850 per month.

Sharon describes her dilemma in Part One. In Part Two, Sharon talks about the challenges she faces getting services for Branko, ironically made all the more difficult because she earns a good living and has private insurance.

Sharon and her family are among the 25 million underinsured working Americans whose private insurance leaves them financially responsible for uncovered expenses so significant that they face financial ruin. Worse still, is the fact that Branko and his family are not getting the services they need to manage his condition precisely because Sharon's family earns too much.

Sadly, we know that Sharon and her family have lots of company. The Commonwealth Fund recently reported that the ranks of the underinsured have ballooned 60 percent since 2003, with middle class Americans accounting for much of this increase.

In the wealthiest country in the world, no parent should face Sharon’s Choice: her home or her child's medicines. No family should be left to shoulder this out-sized financial burden, and no child should be denied the treatment he needs. America can do better than this. American must do better. But until then, Sharon and Branko are on their own.

Sharon's Choice Part 1



Sharon's Choice Part 2