10-year-old stands up for prosthetics change

Mar 5, 2010 — The Salt Lake Tribune

Trent Lowe

Mar. 5, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Standing outside of the Utah Senate, 10-year-old Elizabeth Sweeten wasn't on a tour or a field trip, she was on a mission to change lives.

An amputee from birth, Sweeten is using her situation to try to persuade lawmakers to vote in favor of HB66, a bill that would require insurance companies to provide coverage for external prosthetic devices. In their third year at the Legislature, advocates of the bill are happy to get any help available.

"Senator [Allen] Christensen said that he was a definite 'no,' but after we met him, he said that something just changed his heart," Sweeten said Thursday. "He told me this morning that even one person can make a difference."

When she was born, Sweeten only had 70 percent of her leg, forcing her to use a prosthetic limb for the rest of her life. At only 9 months old, Sweeten received her first prosthetic at a cost of $2,000 and, for much of her life, has had to replace it every six months at a cost of thousands of dollars.

Shriners Hospital for Children pays for the prosthetic limbs for children younger than 18 years old who qualify, said Kay Sweeten, Elizabeth's mother. For those who don't go through the hospital, an average prosthetic limb can cost up $12,000.

"This bill is about giving the representatives and senators the opportunity to learn about the problem we face," Kay Sweeten said. "Mostly it's a matter of giving them enough information that they can make the choices that we hope

they will make."

In an era of hardened political lines, HB66 has brought the two major parties together on at least one issue. The bill's House sponsor, Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City, has worked on the bill since its early days and teamed up last year with Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, to try and push it through.

"Representative Litvack committed to me that he would stand behind me for as long as it took," said Tami Stanley, a citizen who has been the driving force behind the bill.

The only hurdle left for the bill is to pass the Senate, which, according to Stanley, could go either way.

"We're kind of in the home stretch," she said, "but I am on my guard constantly because the rug can be pulled out from you at any time."

Opponents of the bill cite the mandate as the largest obstacle, Valentine said, but he and others are working to educate lawmakers about the real intent of the bill.

"It's not a mandate," he said, "but it does direct every insurance carrier to offer this as a policy and to price it accordingly. That's the way insurance should work."

Despite all the ups and downs of politics, supporters of the bill remain satisfied with the progress they have made and the lives they can touch.

"Amputees are a small group of people," Kay Sweeten said. "When we see others that are willing to stand up and say, 'We do support you,' it feels good."

Newstex ID: KRTB-0192-42605292