Picture this — you are almost 8 months pregnant. You have a two-year-old, and a veteran husband who has been offered a job in a different state. This move would mean a better income for your family, less distance from crucial family support at the time when you most need it, and significantly better health insurance and coverage. You jump at the chance, pack up your family and life’s belongings, and move.

Your pregnancy is low-complication and low-risk, despite dealing with some infertility issues and multiple miscarriages previously. The move goes as smoothly as any relocation can go. But then, suddenly, it’s not so smooth. You go into premature labor, require an emergency c-section, and your newborn is placed in NICU. She stays there for two weeks, attached to life-saving equipment, being allowed to only be held in your arms after a significant period of time and then only periodically. Her well-being consumes your every thought, your husband’s every thought, while you are both tending to the needs of your two-year-old, also.

What doesn’t enter your thought process is the cost of this life-saving and necessary intervention. You have good health insurance, you’ll think at times, and then quickly go back to the more important and pressing issue of your daughter, dependent on the people and technology who are working full-time to save her life. You pay health insurance in this country to ensure that you and your dependents get the care that they need when they need it — such as times like this.