In a series of tweets, Chandra described how insurance helped them cover a broad range of services that Ethan needed beyond surgical hospital stays.
"We're hopeful that going forwards he'll need fewer and smaller surgeries, but this was not the last time they'll open his chest," Chandra said in one tweet.
The surgeon who operated on Ethan's heart was based several states away, Chandra said, adding that her son also regularly needed to see a local pediatrician and an immunologist, as well as a cardiologist and electrophysiologist for his pacemaker,
Ethan also takes five different prescription medications multiple times a day and has frequent visits to the Emergency Room, she said.
Chandra told BuzzFeed News that without the Affordable Care Act, "there is no way we could afford this."
"Because of Obamacare, we do pay high premiums, but that money is going into a pool that's allowing kids like Ethan to receive coverage for almost all of his expenses, and we are so grateful for that," she said.