Mary Lou Retton and her family are facing questions over the $459,324 they received in public donations after the retired Olympic gymnast was recently hospitalized with a rare form of pneumonia.
Retton, who became the first ever American woman to win the all-around gold at the 1984 Olympic Games, was left fighting for her life in an ICU back in October after she was found lying on her bedroom floor struggling to breathe by a neighbor.
The soon-to-be 56-year-old has fortunately made a recovery from the illness, despite her four daughters saying their goodbyes at one stage out of fear she wouldn’t make it through the night.
One week after her mom was rushed to hospital, Retton’s daughter McKenna Kelley shared the worrying news on her Instagram story along with a SpotFund account she started to help cover the medical costs.
‘Please help my mom continue to fight,’ Kelley wrote. ‘Out of respect for her and her privacy, I will not disclose all details. However, I will disclose that she is not insured.
Mary Lou Retton and her family are facing questions over the $459,324 they received in public donations after she was hospitalized with pneumonia
Retton, who became the first ever American woman to win the all-around gold at the 1984 Olympic Games, was left fighting for her life in an ICU back in October
Her daughter, McKenna Kelley, created a SpotFund account to help cover medical costs
But Retton and her family have not explained how much of the near $500,000 raised on SpotFund (pictured) will be going towards her medical bill
‘We ask that if you could help in any way, that 1) you PRAY! and 2) if you could help us with finances for the hospital bill.’
Earlier this month, USA Today’s Christine Brennan revealed that the crowdsourcing request had brought in a staggering $459,324, with Retton’s daughters admitting they did not expect to receive as much.
However, after refusing to explain how much the full medical bill came to and how much of the remaining money they will give to charity, Retton and her family find themselves under the microscope.
During the interview with Brennan, Kelley claimed that her mom was left without health insurance as she could not afford care because of pre-existing conditions, including ‘over 30 orthopedic surgeries, including four hip replacements. She’s in chronic pain every day.’
Kelley and her sisters have also cited Retton’s 2018 divorce and disruptions to her speaking-engagement income caused by the Covid-19 pandemic as reasons for financial difficulty.
Though according to The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, health insurers are not permitted to charge higher premiums for people with pre-existing conditions.
Subsidies toward coverage are also offered to stop people from having to pay more than 8.5 percent of their income toward health insurance premiums.
USA Today claims it has found plans that would be available to Retton with premiums of $545 and $680 per month, yet both her and her family have been unable to explain why this would not be affordable.
The former gymnast is pictured with her four daughters, Shayla (left), McKenna (top right), Skyla (bottom right) and Emma (center)
Doctors told the sisters that they didn’t know if Retton would make it through the night
Retton revealed she was discovered by a neighbor on the floor before being hospitalized
Nevertheless, veteran writer Julie Appleby also pointed out that ACA insurance can remain expensive for people on higher incomes, with someone on an annual salary of $100,000 per year being made to pay a $708 monthly premium. She also claimed that many people are still not aware of what ACA can offer.
Retton, WHO was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997, was released from hospital on October 23 but her daughter said that they’re taking the recovery process day by day with the timeline uncertain amid the mystery illness.
‘You don’t get to see the light at the end of the tunnel,’ she said. ‘So it’s a day by day recovery period.’