There’s good news for the St. Albert couple who went public last month with a plea for help to get their newborn’s specialized infant formula covered by insurance.
The insurance company has approved their appeal, which means that the costs of PurAmino for Eleanor Trinh are now covered for her first year of life. That means it also extends retroactively back to when she was born in October.
“It’s great news!” Richy Trinh announced, clarifying that the insurer is offering 80 per cent coverage.
Eleanor needs the formula because she suffered a severe allergy to other formulas in her first weeks of life. She was born weighing 6 lbs. 11 oz. but her digestive troubles led to a number of hospitalizations. Her lowest weight was almost 5 lbs.
Now, she goes through a can of formula every four days or so and is hitting the scale at more than 9.5 lbs. much to mom and dad’s huge relief.
Originally, PurAmino wasn’t covered by Richy’s health insurance provider, the Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan, despite the formula being a prescribed product. This led to the couple making an appeal while approaching Health Minister Sarah Hoffman to change the legislation.
While they were waiting on the appeal, the Trinhs were paying out of pocket to the tune of $60 per can. The prescription meant that they could only buy it by the caseload.
Natalie said that the couple’s actual costs have only tallied a few hundred dollars. They received a number of cans from friends, from the St. Albert Food Bank, and even from the Sturgeon Community Hospital, which resulted in a supply of nine cans.
“We’ve only had to fill one prescription. We’ve only spent $240 so far. We’ve been pretty lucky,” she said.
They said that they have since made contact with other families that have experienced similar situations, some for longer periods of time and with no relief. The Trinhs are still adamant about changing the legislation so that others don’t have to endure such stress and hardship.
Hoffman, Richy added, was pleased that the appeal to the insurer had a positive result. “She said that she could do better. That’s good to hear.”
Natalie has teamed up with another mom in a similar situation but who has been involved in her own battle to change the legislation for three years. Together, they will meet with the health minister again at the end of the month.
“It sounded pretty promising. They said that they were hoping to fast track it,” Richy noted.
In the meantime, their GoFundMe campaign continues, already reaching the halfway mark of its $7,000 goal. The fundraising was originally intended to help the family to pay for a year’s worth of the formula. Even if they don’t need the full amount to cover the costs of PurAmino, the Trinhs say that the money will still serve a purpose of helping babies in dire circumstances.
On the crowdfunding page it states that, upon winning their appeal, the Trinhs would pass the donations on to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Misericordia and as well as the other NICUs at the Royal Alexandra, Grey Nuns, and U of A Hospitals.
“It’s a no-brainer. They provided so much – so much – support.”
