This Is What's At Stake If Obamacare Is Repealed, NJ Mom Says By Tweeting Staggering Bill

Alison Chandra found a way to get everybody's interest when she heard that Obamacare could be repealed. But it wasn't the heartbreaking photos of her sick 2-year-old New Jersey boy that got the most attention.

It was the photograph of a bill - one that likely tops $200,000 - that she tweeted out publicly, getting 84,000 likes just as Senate Republicans consider repealing Obamacare, otherwise known as the Affordable Care Act.

And now she's put herself and her son, Ethan, at the center of the health care debate that Chandra believes could lead to her losing essential health benefits - including doctors’ services, inpatient and outpatient hospital care, prescription drug coverage - that are required under the ACA.

What's also not clear, she said, is whether pre-existing conditions will be covered if essential health benefits are gone. Ethan, who turns 3 on Saturday, suffers from Heterotaxy, a rare birth defect that has left him with two left lungs, a stomach on the wrong side of his body and other problems.

"Without assurance that essential health benefits will be covered, we are facing astronomical costs for his care," said Chandra, who lives in Middlesex. "Ethan will always have medical needs, but he's not the only one who stands to lose if this bill passes."

The syndrome also causes irregularities abnormalities to organs such as the stomach, intestines, liver and lungs may be in abnormal places in the chest and abdomen.

Ethan was also born with spleens that are not functioning properly and nine congenital heart defects. Chandra said he also has problems with his gallbladder and heart, and his stomach is on the right instead of the left side.

Chandra calculated what she believe would be her health bill - which is currently $500 under Aetna - if she were to lose those those essential health benefits: $231,115.

Chandra says her son has made a lot of progress since he's been receiving care. She said Ethan used to lose his breath from going up a few steps. Now he can hike on his own.

She knows she would be hurt financially, and severely, if the Republicans effectively repeal the ACA. But she's more worried about Ethan's future, saying the bill's fate could become a life-or-death consequence for the boy. She's worried that he could be dealing with this issue for the rest of his life.

Chandra said she never used to follow politics, but now she feels committed. Her Twitter account is filled with postings about her fears regarding the Senate bill.

"I know I'm a broken record on this, but this is literally life and death for so many kids like my son," she said. "So silence is not an option."

Here are some of her other postings:

Chandra's family is among many whose health care costs would be unbearable under the Senate bill, watch the video below for more.

Alison Chandra photo