Jane Little Poulliot: Fighting for Health Care Justice in Retirement

Jane Little Poulliot is a resident of Ocean View, New Jersey, where she lives with her husband who suffers from diabetes. Both rely on Medicare and a supplemental plan through AARP UnitedHealthcare. Jane only works during the summer as a beach tag inspector, so their health care coverage is critical for managing both her and her husband’s health needs.

Jane spent 23 years working at the same hospital, but after an auto accident in 2003, she was unable to return to her job. For her, Medicare has been a vital lifeline. She uses it regularly for medical testing and to see their family doctor. “We’ve been lucky, actually, you know, we’ve been pretty healthy. But I’m 72 and he’s 74. That won’t last.”

Without Medicare, Jane says, “we wouldn’t be able to pay a full price for health care and medications.” Losing access to affordable care would not just harm their health but would further harm their financial stability after already losing a third of their household income when Jane lost her ability to work, “Your credit score goes down and then you can’t get any help to maybe pay off a bill.”

Unable to return to the workforce, Jane has dedicated her life to public service. Instead of attending college, she became an EMT and volunteered with the Coast Guard. She is dedicated to giving back after receiving support from the Farmers Home Administration, which helped her secure a subsidized mortgage.

Now, Jane continues to serve her community by speaking out on behalf of others struggling with health care access. “I’m going to fight this as much as I can,” she says. “And I’m not only fighting for myself, I’m fighting for others.” She fights for people in the unhoused population like her sister, who “spent the last nine months of her life living out of a car,” citing unaffordable rent prices even with access to The Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8).

Jane believes strongly that health care is a human right, “There are other countries that have universal health care. Why not us? Why is it something that we have to constantly worry about, especially now?”