BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – James Phillips had health insurance when doctors amputated his left leg due to a life-threatening infection in 2022. But two days later, he lost his job.
Phillips and his wife, Andrea Phillips, were able to continue their insurance coverage temporarily through COBRA, but the couple ended up shifting to a plan through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
What followed was a yearslong health crisis for both Andrea and James Phillips involving a triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis for Andrea and a major heart attack and congestive heart failure for James…