We have a great deal of hope for the future of heart children and their families!
-Michelle

I came across your site online. I have a 2 year old daughter, Cassidy, with Tetralogy of Fallot. I think what your organization is doing to raise awareness for CHD’s is wonderful.
My wife and I own a jewelry company and we make pendants and pins that pertain to Congenital Heart Defects.
We can personalize any of our items with your organizations logo and/or slogan or event information. Custom items are our specialty. We also do individual pendants for CHD kids, parents & friends as well as memorial pendants.
Please take a look at our site when you get a moment: http://www.lucky10.etsy.com
We would love to work with an organization such as yours to help spread the word about CHD’s. Please contact us if we can be of any further assistance.

Thank you,

Vito Lisa
Lucky 10 Awareness Pendants
http://www.lucky10.etsy.com

P.S. If you want to keep up with Cassidy’s journey here is her Carepage info:
http://www.carepages.com , Page name: cassidylisa

People with birth defects are getting caught in the political crossfire. They didn’t ask to have the defects and many lead healthy lifestyles. However, they can’t get insured or have to pay exhorbant prices. Many fall in between the cracks: they are able and willing to work, so they make too much money for medicaid and yet are not old enough for medi-care. Nor can they afford the price of individual insurance. They should be allowed to pay into medicare advantage plans. Those plans would give them access to physicians who can provide services, would help fund medicare, and would give us access to healthy lifestyles information and gym memberships offered by some plans, therefore helping to keep them healthier and less of a burden to the system.

Currently, the fight for insurance for all is too broad and causes dissent between political parties, thus failing those with disabilities. Many hope that the trickle down effect will help people with disabilities. This is not true. Our campaign asks that politicians look beyond insuring all Americans and focus on those who need it the most. While we are quite aware that many Americans are not insured, people with disabilities are often forgotten or caught in political crossfire of groups who wish for broad changes that are not concrete. Insuring those with birth defects, while attaching the accountability of payment for services based on income is an option that makes sense. This keeps those with birth defects out of the general pool, thus no longer leaving them as part of the reason for higher premiums.

We are not requesting that the fight for health care for all be abandoned. We are asking for the American people to put those with birth defects first, to pause the debate and give them the coverage they need.

If you believe as we do, please contact us so that your members may write their representative today and ask them to support a single bill whose sole purpose, without earmarks, allows people with birth defects to pay into Medicare Advantage plans, with premiums based only on income level (not including savings and other non-liquid assets) of parents, guardians and the individuals of age.

Thank you,
Rosanita Ratcliff

http://www.childrensheartfoundation.org/