SOMERSET —
Billy Koehler, an electronics expert in Pittsburgh, had a heart attack when he was 39. He was diagnosed with a type of heart arrhythmia. He had an automatic defibrillator implanted in his chest. Then, in 2003, the company he worked for went out of business. Koehler was unable to get another job.
"Billy didn't want the government to give him anything. He wanted to buy a private health insurance plan," said his sister, Georgeanne Koehler. "He was denied due to his pre-existing condition."
Koehler got a job — as a pizza delivery man. And he loved it.
"He loved the work, he loved people," Georgeanne said.
On Dec. 14, 2007, he collapsed at work. His cardiologist said the defibrillator battery was so low that he was surprised that it fired. It needed to be replaced. Koehler told the doctor he no longer had health insurance. He was told that he would have to pay thousands. He applied for medical assistance, but was told that even as a pizza delivery driver, he made too much money to qualify for a card.
"I called (medical assistance) and was told to tell Billy to ask his boss to fire him," Georgeanne said. "I told him that and he refused. He said he couldn't have eternal life with a sin on his soul and that would be a sin. On March 6, 2009, which was a first Friday, Billy went to church to spend an hour at adoration. He knelt on the floor of the altar and praised God for his blessings. He asked God to heal his heart if it was his will. The next day he left work to go home. He drove two blocks, came to a stop sign, put his car in park and slumped into the steering wheel."
People ran to help him. One teenager ran down the hill, removing his sweatshirt as he ran, and folded it to put it under Koehler's head. He died. It was a week before his 58th birthday.
"That day these compassionate strangers didn't care if Billy had a health insurance card in his pocket," Georgeanne said. "All that mattered to them was doing what they could to give Billy back another day of life."
Georgeanne became a "story collector" of other people's health insurance problems and has testified before the House Education and the Workforce Committee on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Erin Gill-Ninehouser, education and outreach coordinator for the Pennsylvania Health Access Network's Western Pennsylvania Region, said the act will be 2 years old on March 23.
"It is important to understand that people look at the law as a cure-all and it's not," Gill-Ninehouser said. "The biggest problem is skyrocketing insurance costs. The law made coverage more secure and it doesn't have to be tied to a job."
Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to people based on pre-existing conditions, health status, gender or age. A temporary insurance plan for adults with pre-existing conditions is available now. That part of the law went into effect in 2010 for children and goes into effect in 2014 for adults. Effective January 2014 income-based tax credits will be available to adults and families. Small businesses will be helped by tax credits to afford coverage for workers. It also allows them to pool together to have the same bargaining power as corporations. Young adults are now able to remain on their parents' insurance until age 26.
"Our organization is working to make sure that Pennsylvania implements the full extent of the provisions of the law," Gill-Ninehouser said.
More information is available on the website www.pahealthaccess.org.
"This is an act that offers hope of living to millions of Americans, rather than thoughts of dying," Georgeanne said.
The Pennsylvania Health Access Network is a coalition of organizations working to protect high quality health insurance coverage for individuals and businesses and to expand coverage to the uninsured. The network focuses on establishing a competitive health insurance marketplace, stopping excessive rate hikes and protecting the Affordable Care Act, according to its website.
