[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 64 (Thursday, May 10, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E779-E780]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE MELISSA FROELICH MEDICAID CONGENITAL HEART DEFECT WAIVER ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 10, 2001

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I come before you to introduce the Melissa 
Froelich Medicaid Congenital Heart Defect Waiver Act. This legislation 
would permit a State waiver authority to provide medical assistance in 
cases of congenital heart defects.
  My interest in sponsoring this legislation stems from contact with a 
special constituent, Melissa Froelich. Melissa is a five-year old who 
has undergone numerous painful procedures and operations because she 
was born with multiple congenital heart defects. The medical expenses 
for Melissa's family during the first 18 months of her life totaled 
more than one million dollars. More than $270 thousand of those dollars 
were not covered by the family's two health insurance policies. The 
family discovered that carrying two health insurance policies was of 
little help due to a Coordination of Benefits provision, which prevents 
a family from taking advantage of the benefits of both combined health 
plans, Even though the family has been paying for two separate health 
plans they can only receive the best benefit from each policy. This 
bill would help middle-class families with children like Melissa whose 
only current options are unacceptable.
  More than 32,000 American babies are born each year with 
cardiovascular defects, which translates to 1 out of every 115 to 150 
births. To put these numbers into perspective, 1 in every 800 to 1,000 
babies is born with Downs Syndrome. Congenital heart defects make up 42 
percent of all birth defects, making Congenital Heart Disease the most 
common of all birth defects. The American Heart Association estimates 
that there are approximately 1 million people living with heart defects 
in the United States today.
  Prior to 1960, most children with heart defects died within the first 
year of life. In the subsequent decades of the 1960's, 70's and 80's, 
research produced by skilled surgeons and cardiologists led to a 
variety of different treatments and interventions which allow the vast 
majority of infants with heart defects to survive. However, these 
medical procedures place an enormous burden on the families of children 
born with congenital heart defects. In addition, many of these children 
who survive

[[Page E780]]

infancy still face a life of dependency on medications, medical 
procedures, and open-heart surgeries.
  For this reason, I urge my colleagues to support this bill and help 
reduce these families' burden and allow them to focus their resources 
on providing the best possible care for their child.

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