U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., unsuccessfully pitched a bill on lifetime caps in 1996. She will try again this summer because she sees better odds with a Democrat majority in the House of Representatives. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., introduced a similar bill in March in the Senate.

Mary Wusterbarth, a stay-at-home mother with two other children, thinks legislation on minimum lifetime caps is an excellent idea. Her daughter, Brea, is 3 now and doing well. But family finances aren't as healthy.

The Wusterbarths spent more than $20,000 to adopt Brea from China in 2006. Then her heart began to fail, just months after she arrived at their Louisiana home.

She qualified for Medicaid while hospitalized for the transplant, but that coverage ended once she was released. The family has since moved to North Carolina, where Brea's father, Danny, works as an operations manager for a distribution center.

They drained their savings and spent more than $60,000 out of pocket on medical bills in the past year. Church donations have helped, and they negotiated some discounts to wind up with $50,000 in insurance coverage for Brea they hope will last the next six months.

But Danny Wusterbarth makes too much money for Brea to receive Medicaid coverage. Insurers won't cover Brea because of the medical history, a common problem with people who reach caps.

Brea's anti-rejection drugs run about $3,000 a month. The biopsies she needs every few months to check for rejection can cost $40,000. She'll also need another transplant in about 10 years. Her mother isn't sure where all the money will come from.

"We were actually told that if we would get a divorce or if he would quit his job, then she could get all the help she needed," Wusterbarth said. "But that's not the way we do things, so we just take it day by day."