Hannah Johnson: Health Care Stability in an Unstable Job Market

Hannah Johnson lives in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, in Representative Rob Bresnahan, Jr.’s district. She relies on Medicaid to care for her physical and mental health while working hard to support her community.

Hannah works for a local nonprofit to raise awareness about mental health. She also holds a job with a local business, interacting with the public every day. During the summer months, she supplements her income with seasonal and service work, but the nature of that work means her income varies significantly. At times, Hannah teaches classes during the summer or throughout the year. These opportunities come and go, and each one affects her income in different ways.

“My take-home changes every day,” Hannah said. “Making reporting any different for that kind of work in order to qualify for Medicaid would just make it impossible to keep up with.”

Through the uncertainty of her work schedule, Medicaid has been a constant. “I rely on Medicaid for my doctor’s visits, to go to therapy, which helps me regulate my anxiety and my depression, to go to the OBGYN,” she said. “I have Medicaid that covers my dental insurance so that I can get my cavities filled and my teeth cleaned, so that I can take care of myself to make sure that I’m interacting well with my community and giving back.”

Without Medicaid, Hannah said, she would not be able to afford doctor visits, therapy, or access to emergency or walk-in care.

“It’s hard enough to find doctors in a rural area anyway,” she said. “Having work requirements just wouldn’t help.”

Hannah calls on her elected officials to protect health care access for people like her.

“I just want to urge Robert Bresnahan to vote against cutting Medicaid and cutting the livelihood and the lifeline for so many of your constituents,” she said. “This is just a basic human right to be able to be treated when you’re sick and not just have to be sick and get other people sick.”