In the months since Vallecito resident Connie Allen was diagnosed with breast cancer, the fear of losing affordable insurance has loomed over her.
For Connie and her husband, Doug, owners of Eagle’s Nest Cabins and Homes, this isn’t their first fight with either foe.
Doug, 68, was diagnosed with melanoma, a form of skin cancer, in September and had two surgeries. The December day that he received a notice that he was cancer-free, Connie told Doug that she was experiencing symptoms related to what turned out to be aggressive breast cancer.
In January, she learned the cancer was in her bones and liver as well.
“At first, you are just whammied, and then you realize you have just got to live every day,” she said.
Her treatment is focused on remission and extending her life. She thinks it’s realistic that she might live five years or longer, and as a Christian, she believes a miracle is possible.
While Connie tries to avoid political discussions and offer guests a refuge from politics in Vallecito, she and her husband are concerned by efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and that Connie, 60, could lose affordable insurance.
As small-business owners, they buy their own insurance. But after Doug had a heart attack in 2000 and Connie was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, they had to purchase their insurance through a high-risk pool, which proved unaffordable, and they were uninsured for several years.
“The way I referred to insurance before the (Affordable Care Act) was one and done. ... As soon as you have one condition, you are going to be done in the insurance system,” Doug said.
After the ACA was passed, the Allens purchased insurance through the state health care exchange, Connect for Health Colorado, in 2014.
“We are very thankful that it came along,” Doug said.
However, Republican efforts in Congress to repeal and replace the ACA have cast uncertainty onto whether the Allens could continue to afford insurance, especially if insurance companies could charge customers more based on health conditions.
“It’s a scary thing to think about,” Connie said. “Doug worries about it. I try not to, I try to be at peace about it.”
A U.S. Senate bill released Thursday does not specifically invite states to seek a waiver to rules that prevent insurers from charging customers more based on pre-existing health conditions, but getting a waiver may still be possible, said Joe Hanel, manager of public policy outreach with Colorado Health Institute.
The bill has wide-open waivers that in some states might function as a de facto way to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions, Hanel said in an email.
“It’s been alarming because in a six-month period, we have seen all the statements coming in and bills coming in from the hospitals and doctors and insurance telling us how much they are paying, how much they are covering, and we just go, ‘Wow, what happens if we didn’t have insurance?’ It would be devastating,” Doug said.
Just one of Connie’s treatments can cost $30,000, she said.
Colorado Health Institute experts think it’s unlikely the state government would seek the waivers that would allow insurers to charge more based on a person’s health, Hanel said.
However, the Senate bill would also provide less affordable coverage for the middle class by cutting the income eligibility for tax credits to offset the cost of buying insurance from 400 to 350 percent of the poverty line, Hanel said. The 2017 federal poverty level for a family of two is $16,240 – 400 percent of that is $64,960 and 350 percent is $56,840.
“The ACA cuts off credits at 400 percent of the poverty line. And 400 percent proved too little for people in high-cost areas (like Durango). So this bill goes in the opposite direction of what’s needed for the middle class,” he wrote.
The bill also provides funding for states to create high-risk pools, like the one the Allens were part of previously.
The changes may affect the tax credits that the Allens receive and make coverage less affordable.
“As far as what we’ve seen so far, there are provisions in that bill that would drive our costs up dramatically, probably beyond what our income level can support,” he said.
Not all the questions about the Republican bill have been answered, but Doug said they are likely in the cross-hairs of the change as small-business owners.
Doug moved to Vallecito in 1978 and bought Eagle’s Nest Cabins and Homes, known as Silver Spruce Lodge at the time. Two years later, he sold it and bought Bear Paw Lodge and ran it for 19 years before selling it and buying back Eagle’s Nest.
Next year would mark his 40th year in business in Vallecito. Connie joined him 27 years ago when they married.
“When I look at this business, I think of her as being the spirit and the heart and soul of this business. She may be down, but she still gives it all she’s got,” Doug said.
With help from friends and family, the Allens opened their cabins for business this summer, and it’s shaping up to be a good season, Connie said. But the couple have put their house and the cabins up for sale separately.
“It will be sad, even though we knew that day was coming,” Connie said of selling the business.
The couple may move into Durango and continue spending winters in Florida, as they have for several years.
Walking the halls of cancer treatment centers in recent months, they were struck by the numbers of people fighting similar battles, Doug said.
“It has a humbling effect on you, even though you are going through a hard time, there is always somebody else going through a harder time,” he said. “That actually helps us keep this in focus.”
mshinn@durangoherald.com
To help
People who want to help the Allens can contribute to a fund set up at First National Bank.
The couple would also be honored by donations to the American Cancer Society or by anyone who learns about their story and is able to financially help loved ones who have cancer, Doug Allen said.
