While former Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton spent weeks in the hospital last year, her family wondered how they would pay her hospital bills. That’s because Retton did not have health insurance, they said.
The reason? Money.
In a Monday interview on the “Today” show, Retton told Hoda Kotb she simply couldn’t afford insurance.
“When COVID hit and after my divorce and all my pre-existing (conditions) — I mean, I’ve had over 30 operations of orthopedic stuff — I couldn’t afford it. … That’s the bottom line: I couldn’t afford it,” Retton said.
Daughter McKenna Kelley told USA Today that Retton was unable to work or give speeches during the pandemic, and decided to drop her insurance to save money. Retton was “about to get (health insurance) again but didn’t, and then she got sick,” Kelley said.
“(W)ho would even know that this was going to happen to me?” Retton asked.
Kotb pointed out many people just assumed being an Olympic superstar meant having endorsements and income streams that would have afforded Retton the means to buy insurance.
But Retton, 55, pointed out it’s been 40 years since her Games — “life goes on and things happen.”
The sweetheart and star of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, Retton won five medals and became the first American woman to win gold in the all-around competition. She was admitted to the hospital in early October 2023 with a rare form of pneumonia.
She was in the intensive care unit most of her stay, unable to breathe on her own, her daughters said in social media posts.
Although most pneumonia is caused by bacteria, the American Lung Association explains, rare forms come from a virus or fungus. It still isn’t clear how Retton contracted the pneumonia.
Her family set up an online donation site to help pay medical bills, hoping for $50,000. Fans responded generously, ultimately raising around $460,000.
Although she is home now, Retton must still use a portable oxygen machine to help her breathe.
“I’m not great yet, and I know it’s going to be a really long road,” she told Kotb. “I don’t know how long I’ll indefinitely need the oxygen. But you have no idea how blessed and how grateful I was for this holiday season.”
“I’m so grateful to be here.”
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