Local resident invited to hear president in person

But Marty Huffman will not be viewing the joint session of Congress through a television screen; he will be sitting in the gallery of the House of Representatives chamber.

Huffman and his daughter Taylor, 23, left Tuesday for Washington, D.C., to hear the speech firsthand as the guests of Arizona Democratic U.S. Rep. Gab­rielle Giffords.

Saying it was an honor to be invited to attend the joint session, Huffman likened it to “winning the lottery.”

The health woes he and his family face due to his wife’s illness would take a large lottery win to handle their financial problems.

C.J. Karamargin, Giffords’ press secretary, said the 8th Congressional District congresswoman was overwhelmed by “the catastrophic medical crisis the Huffman family finds themselves in.”

The congresswoman became informed of the problem when the 51-year-old Huffman passionately spoke at  a health care reform town hall meeting Aug. 31 in Sierra Vista.

It was at that time, he spoke about his 48-year-old wife, Judy, who is paralyzed.

Calling for a revision of the country’s health care programs, especially when it comes to the insurance industry, Huffman told Giffords and more than 1,300 people at the town hall meeting his wife was denied some coverage, causing her health problems to become worse.

The health insurance company also twice refused to pay for her air evacuation, leading to the family having to pay $24,000, Huffman said.

The end result was the family has paid more than $100,000 out of their own pockets for what was determined to be out-of-network health care, Huffman said.

Karamargin said it is a story like what the Huffman family went through that needs to be heard so people in the country and members of Congress will understand the importance of reforming health care.

The congresswoman knows the story of the Huffmans is just one example of too many that Americans have had to live through, he said.

Democratic President Barack Obama will speak about health care reform to the nation at a joint session of Congress tonight.  The speech begins at 5 p.m. Arizona time, and will be carried live on most television news stations.