First Things First. . . .

Thank you Greg Sargent, who featured me on The Washington Post's Plum Line in a piece entitled, "What Would Conservatives do for Hillary StPierre?" 

You can see the post here:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plumline/2011/02/what_would_conservatives_do_fo.html

or read below:

What would conservatives do for Hillary St. Pierre?

By Greg Sargent

Ezra Klein points us to the difficult dilemma of one Hillary St. Pierre, who has Hodgkin's lymphoma but says she might be forced to drop her treatment if the Affordable Care Act is repealed:

The legislation put an end to lifetime limits on coverage for the first time, erasing the financial burdens, including personal bankruptcy, that had affected many ailing Americans.

For example, Hillary St. Pierre, a 28-year-old former registered nurse who has Hodgkin's lymphoma, had expected to reach her insurance plan's $2 million limit this year. Under the new law, the cap was eliminated when the policy she gets through her husband's employer was renewed this year.

Ms. St. Pierre, who has already come close once before to losing her coverage because she had reached the plan's maximum, says she does not know what she will do if the cap is reinstated. "I will be forced to stop treatment or to alter my treatment," Ms. St. Pierre, who lives in Charlestown, N.H., with her husband and son, said in an e-mail. "I will find a way to continue and survive, but who is going to pay?"

Ezra charges that Republicans and conservatives are irresponsibly advocating for repeal without having their own idea in place to deal with the plight of those who are in Ms. St. Pierre's situation.

That's an awfully harsh verdict, so I'd like to give conservatives a chance to respond. So, a question for any Republican and conservative readers or bloggers who feel like answering: If the health law were repealed, what would you propose doing for Hillary St. Pierre instead?

I couldn't have stated it better myself.

Thank you everybody who has written about my ordeal (you'd be surprised how difficult it is to track them down and thank them personally), and especially all who have commented whether it's to help, share their story, or disagree.