ance, but they're unwilling to discuss
whether instead of more private insurance,
it's publicly-provided insurance that the
nation needs.
The problem for the Wilkes has never
been that they do not have insurance; it's that
theirs doesn't do them any good. Nathan
Wilkes, a computer network security expert,
earns more than $100,000 a year at a Colorado start-up telecommunications company
he helped build called Virtela. Before that, he
worked as an engineer for Qwest and Sprint.
Except for a brief period before full-time
work when he and his wife paid for their
own insurance, he and his family have always
enjoyed large-group coverage.
Then Thomas was born in 2003 and diagnosed with severe Hemophilia A. When at
age 1 Thomas became resistant to the clotting factor that he normally took for bleeds,
his treatment became a lot more complicated
and expensive. Suddenly, Virtela's health
insurance premiums with United Healthcare
skyrocketed nearly 40 percent. As a company
trying to become profitable, Virtela tried to
shop around for a better deal, but found no
insurers willing to bid on its business. The
company ended up staying with United
Healthcare and negotiated lower premiums,
but in exchange had to shift from a PPO plan
to a high-deductible plan for employees.
© 2007 JON ORLANDO/JONORLANDOPHOTO.COM
previous spread: Thomas
Wilkes, 3, bikes at a park
around the corner from his
home in Englewood, Colo.
opposite page: Thomas
double high-fives his mother,
Sonji, during a session at
his physical therapy clinic.
above: Thomas during his
monthly chemotherapy
treatment at The Children's
Hospital in Denver. The chemo
is to help lower his resistance
to hemophilia treatment.
left: About $95,000 worth
of clotting factor that Thomas
takes for major bleeds sits
in the family refrigerator.
MARCH 2007
W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G
REGISTERED NURSE
17
