Nathan Wilkes hopes to snag a seat next to first lady Michelle Obama tonight as a special guest at the president’s health care address.
The Englewood resident, who introduced Barack Obama when he visited Grand Junction last month, is featured in a video expected to be shown during the speech and might even be mentioned by the president.
Wilkes has spent up to $25,000 out of pocket annually, even though he has insurance, to pay claims for his 6-year-old son’s health care. The boy was born with hemophilia.
When his son was born, Wilkes had great insurance through the telecommunications company he helped found. But premiums for all 100 employees skyrocketed because of the high claims, which for Wilkes’ son reached up to $750,000 annually. No other insurance company would insure the business.
“If you’re not going to make them a profit, they won’t even offer you a plan,” Wilkes said.
Wilkes has since started his own company but he fears his son will exceed the lifetime coverage cap of $6 million.
