HG Matters Issue 1 | Page 3

The Ayden Rae Foundation is a worldwide awareness organization dedicated to advocacy for Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) sufferers as well as expanding outreach for education, research and eventual cure.

The Necessity for a Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) Rider

According to a report by the Healthcare Cost & Utilization Project (HCUP), there are nearly 300,000 visits to ERs and hospitals due to Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) each year in the United States alone. HG is hardly a rare disorder. Still, fewer than 20 studies were published on HG in 2010 while studies on birth defects, which affect fewer children, number over 11,000. HG has also been compared in numbers to breast cancer victims which number approximately 300,000 cases per year in the U.S. It is important to note that 1 in every 3 HG pregnancies does not result in a live birth, and far too many women die due to complications caused from HG.

The HCUP report, the most recent published study to track statistics surrounding the true impact of HG, was published in 2008. The previous study was conducted in 1996 which reported approximately 68,000 documented cases of HG in the U.S. According to these reports, the number of HG cases increased almost 350 percent in 12 years.

Unfortunately, until a woman becomes pregnant, she has no idea if she will be afflicted with HG because detection for the disease currently does not exist. Therefore, all families should be able to have an HG Rider available to them to cover all costs.

Due to these statistics and personal experiences, it is the hope of the Ayden Rae Foundation and HG sufferers and their families that all insurance providers will offer clients/customers an insurance rider to cover all medically-necessary expenses associated with HG, just as many previous insurance riders have done so for other illnesses and/or medical aliments. Such medical necessities include, but are not limited to, home healthcare, medications, medication pumps, feeding tubes such as PICC Line/Peg Tubes.

While we are aware that the majority of insurance companies cover most of these costs, our hope is that the creation of such a rider will result in:

• an increase of HG awareness;

• prescription medications and procedures no longer being considered off label; and

• the medical community recognizing HG for what it is - a life-threatening disease that afflicts hundreds of thousands of women and unborn children every year.

Insurance companies will also benefit from the implementation of such a rider as well. With insurees receiving proper and consistent treatment administered through home healthcare instead of irregular emergency room visits and lengthy hospital stays, the financial losses insurance companies incur will decrease significantly. In the end, such a rider will benefit all parties involved.

We thank you for your time and consideration of this matter.

Perry Pack and Vanessa Pack

Founders and CEOs

Ayden Rae Foundation