Mary Lou Retton and her family are facing questions about 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 American woman ever to win all-around gold at the 1984 Olympics, was left fighting for her life in an intensive care unit in October after a neighbor found her lying on her bedroom floor struggling to breathe .
The soon-to-be 56-year-old has thankfully recovered from the disease, despite her four daughters saying goodbye at one point for fear she would not survive the night.
A week after her mother was rushed to the hospital, Retton’s daughter McKenna Kelley shared the disturbing news on her Instagram Story, along with a SpotFund account to help cover medical costs.
“Please help my mother keep fighting,” Kelley wrote. ‘Out of respect for her and her privacy, I will not make all the details public. However, I will disclose that she is not insured.
Mary Lou Retton and her family face questions about the $459,324 they received in public donations after she was hospitalized with pneumonia
Retton, who became the first American woman ever to win all-around gold at the 1984 Olympics, was left fighting for her life in an intensive care unit in October.
Her daughter, McKenna Kelley, has set up a SpotFund account to help cover medical costs
But Retton and her family have not explained how much of the nearly $500,000 raised through SpotFund (pictured) will go toward her medical bills.
“We ask that if you could help in any way, that you 1) PRAY! and 2) whether you can help us finance the hospital bill.’
Earlier this month, USA today‘s Christine Brennan revealed that the crowdsourcing request had raised a whopping $459,324, with Retton’s daughters admitting they didn’t expect to receive that much.
However, after refusing to explain how much the full medical bill was and how much of the remaining money they will give to charity, Retton and her family are under scrutiny.
During the interview with Brennan, Kelley claimed that her mother did not have health insurance because she could not afford care due to pre-existing conditions, including “more than 30 orthopedic surgeries, including four hip replacements.” She has chronic pain every day.”
Kelley and her sisters have also cited Retton’s 2018 divorce and disruptions to her speaking income due to the Covid-19 pandemic as reasons for financial difficulties.
Although under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, health insurers are not allowed to charge higher premiums for people with pre-existing conditions.
Coverage subsidies are also offered to prevent people from paying more than 8.5 percent of their income in health insurance premiums.
USA Today claims it has found plans that would be available to Retton with premiums of $545 and $680 per month, but neither she nor her family have been able 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 nurses they didn’t know if Retton would survive the night
Retton revealed that she was discovered on the ground by a neighbor before being admitted to hospital
Nevertheless, veteran writer Julie Appleby also pointed out that ACA insurance can remain expensive for people with higher incomes, with someone with an annual salary of $100,000 per year having to pay a monthly premium of $708. She also claimed that many people are still unaware of what ACA has to offer.
Retton, who was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997, was released from the hospital on Oct. 23, but her daughter said they are monitoring the recovery process day by day and the timeline is uncertain amid the mystery illness.
“You don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “So it’s a day-to-day recovery period.”
