Fear for health care

My sister contracted COVID-19 in early June of this year. We were worried for her health, but thought after two weeks of illness with no hospitalization and her fever finally being gone, she would be fine. She went back to work after being cleared by her doctor, but after two days of work, she had difficulty with stamina and breathing. She went back to her doctor and was sent on to the hospital for screening. CT scan showed "ground-glass opacities" in her lungs, a lingering symptom we were to learn is not uncommon with recovering COVID-19 patients. She was given a steroid and an inhaler and several more weeks at home to recover. Her health is much better now, but not back to 100%. It may never be.

My concern is that if Rep. Lauren Underwood is not reelected, preexisting conditions like my sister's will not be covered. My sister and many others may well have long term complications from COVID-19 and their care could seriously be in jeopardy. If my sister loses her job from excessive illness, she would no longer be able to find meaningful health insurance to cover those ongoing expenses. She also would be effectively trapped in her current job because her current health insurance coverage would not carry over if preexisting conditions were no longer covered expenses. Rep. Lauren Underwood has shown through her leadership and passage of legislation that she will make sure vital protections included in the Affordable Care Act are not rolled back and Illinoisans are protected.

These protections are a priority for Rep. Lauren Underwood. I don't have faith that her opponent would show any concern for this important issue.

Kelly Beall

Lake Villa