Sign Emi’s Petition

My beautiful daughter Vivian was born 3 months premature and spent 4 months in the NICU. She survived, but never learned to eat and requires a special formula that costs $290 a case. Our insurance company, United Healthcare, refuses to pay for this.

Vivian was diagnosed with dysphagia and reflux and had to undergo multiple surgeries – including having a g-tube inserted.  She gets 100% of her nutrition through the g-tube and due to absorption and food tolerance issues, the formula that works best for her is “Pediasure Peptide 1.5.”

We thought our insurance would cover it – but after months of purchasing the formula, we received news that United Healthcare was not paying for it – in the form of an $8,000 bill. My family is now in a panic worrying about how we are going to feed our daughter. She needs 6-7 cases a month – about $2,000. That is my entire paycheck.

Just a few years ago, United Healthcare posted a net earnings of $5.142 billion – they can afford to cover this for families that need it. Health insurance companies are susceptible to public pressure — and we believe that with enough signatures, United Healthcare will change its policy — not just for our family but for others, too. Thats why I need you to sign my petition.

Vivian is the most grateful little girl you could ever meet. She is so sweet to everyone and it breaks my heart to see her so physically delayed because she is not getting the medical care she needs and deserves.

Please sign our petition to United Healthcare demanding they cover special formulas like the one that Vivian and other children like her need to survive.

In this week’s address, the President discussed his recent trip to Minneapolis where he met a working mother named Rebekah, who wrote the President to share the challenges her family and many middle-class Americans are facing where they work hard and sacrifice yet still can’t seem to get ahead. But instead of focusing on growing the middle class and expanding opportunity for all, Republicans in Congress continue to block commonsense economic proposals such as raising the minimum wage, extending unemployment insurance and making college more affordable.

The President will keep fighting his economic priorities in the weeks and months ahead, because he knows the best way to expand opportunity for all hardworking Americans and continue to strengthen the economy is to grow it from the middle out.

Click here to watch this week’s Weekly Address.

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This past March, a mom from Minneapolis named Rebekah wrote the President a letter about the increasing costs of taking care of her family. She told him about her day-to-day struggles, and let him know what she thinks needs to change. This week, the President traveled to Minnesota to spend some time with her. Check out the live-blog from President Obama’s trip.

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West Wing Week 6/27/14 or, “POTUS Replies”

This week takes us south of the border with the Vice President, to our nation’s capital for the first-ever White House Summit on Working Families, and along for the ride as Rebekah gets a reply… in person.

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“You Can Ignore the Facts; You Can’t Deny the Facts” — President Obama on Climate Change

President Obama addressed the League of Conservation Voters at their annual Capital Dinner. In his remarks, he commended them on their work to protect the planet, and emphasized that the work is “even more urgent and more important” now than when he last spoke to the League in 2006, due to the rapidly growing threat of climate change.

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