I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as a newborn and have lived with this chronic illness my entire life. I deal with the financial and personal hardships as best as I can. My husband and I spend about half our monthly income on covering health care costs now, and I’m only going to need more medications as my cystic fibrosis progresses. When I once fell into the coverage gap, I had to pay $1,000 upfront for a necessary inhaled antibiotic, Colistin. $1,000 is an outrageous cost, and I know that if something happens to my coverage, I could suddenly be faced with this cost again.