Caring for Crohn's & UC

Jennifer Jaff, Patient Advocate, Passes Away

September 24, 2012 at 9:10 pm Rebecca K. 1 comment

I am a little late in posting but last week, a great advocate for chronically ill patients passed away from complications with her Crohn’s Disease. Jennifer Jaff, 55, was executive director of Advocacy for Patients. She was first diagnosed with Crohn’s when she was 19. She had eight operations to treat her disease and during one 12-year-period gained 120 pounds while on steroids.

According to an article in the New York Times, since 2005, when she founded Advocacy for Patients, she helped more than 5,000 patients file claims with their insurance companies to receive increased coverage for diseases like Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis, other autoimmune diseases, and other ailments that may not be physically noticeable (ex: sickle cell anemia).

In addition to insurance claims, Jaff published a handbook for chronically ill patients, Know Your Rights, and also filed a brief in the Supreme Court case that held up the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

Here’s a great testimonial on her work on the Affordable Care Act.

You can also check out CCFA’s tribute to her here.

Entry filed under: Advocates. Tags: CCFA, crohn's disease, Crohn's Sucks, ibd, obamacare, uc, ulcerative colitis.