 with the difficulties of medical debt and ongoing medical costs of taking care of her family. Ms. Ward, thanks very much for being with us. Good morning. I would like to thank Chairman Sanders, Ranking Member Cassidy, and all members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee for holding this important hearing and for inviting me to speak today. My name is Allison Ward, and together with my husband, we are the parents to twin boys. I am also a neonatal nurse practitioner. I would like to share my experience as a parent of children who spent over six months collectively in a neonatal intensive care unit