As an Outreach Coordinator at FACES, I had the privilege of joining Operation Smiles in Washington, DC, from July 8 to July 10 to share my story and explain why I encourage my South Carolina lawmakers to be original sponsors of the ELSA Bill, also known as the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act. Operation Smiles hosted the weekend’s events.
I learned more about patients and families who were denied access to necessary healthcare for congenital craniofacial anomalies because their private insurance policy deemed the care “cosmetic.” There were children born with the inability to grow teeth and required dentures not only to smile but also to eat, communicate, and develop. Stories like these present unique barriers, with many families struggling to have their private health insurance covered, but this is where ELSA comes in to assist these families.
ELSA Bill is designed to close loopholes andensure that group and individual health plans do not deny or delay medically necessary treatments of congenital anomalies for people with cleft and craniofacial anomalies.
I sat in our South Carolina representative’s offices, listening as a pediatrician carefully provided comprehensive information about why we should cover dental, vision, and hearing loss. He shared stories of children born without lenses and children who aren’t given hearing aids by six months and their impact on the rest of their lives. I shared my story and my family’s story. My first surgery enabled me to breathe, and my last one enabled my eyes to close fully. I vividly remember my doctor having a brutal fight with our health insurance company to get them to authorize my eye surgery. I do remember thinking that it shouldn't be such a struggle to fight and explain that my inability to fully close my eyes was not at all cosmetic, and my corneas were at an even higher risk for further.
Truthfully, before going to Washington, DC, and understanding the gravity of what this bill can do for families like mine, I had no clue. I learned that the ELSA Bill's impact could extend far beyond providing a child with medically necessary care, transforming not just individual lives but entire families.
I am grateful to share my story in Washington, DC, and I can only hope that after eight years, we can get this bill passed.
How can you be involved in helping get ELSA passed?
Next Steps:
2.) Tag legislators on social media!
3.) Check out sample letters, and write your own! Click here to review.
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