Fairness of insurance caps is questioned

Now she is more than $16,000 in debt, she said, and a collection agent - very pleasant - called Wednesday about a $2,400 medical bill.

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where she had her bone marrow transplant, continues to give her the care she needs - including Tuesday's biopsy - although she continues to get bills. Jefferson will give her some level of charity care if her Medicaid applications are rejected, their executives said.

"Nobody should lose their health insurance," she said the other day, sitting under a blanket in Lawnside. "There should be something else you should be able to get. So this is something you don't have to worry about when you get sick. Worrying about bills, that just makes you sicker."

What Went Wrong

Karlin Brockington, 44, was working and paying each month for her health insurance like millions of Americans. In May 2007, she was diagnosed with leukemia. By September 2008, after a bone-marrow transplant and other costly treatments, she reached the $2 million lifetime limit on her policy.

Then she lost her health insurance.

Even though she's in remission, Brockington still needs significant medical care. She has been scrambling since Labor Day, spending the last dollar of her savings and accumulating medical bills topping $16,000.