Paul Miller: Medicaid Gives Me the Freedom to Be Me

Paul Miller came into the world under precarious circumstances. Born a twin in 1958, he and his brother arrived early and fragile. “My mother had sepsis and almost died before we were born,” he said. The environment was hostile, but they survived. That early fight shaped how he would face everything that followed.

Paul’s life has been defined by resilience. He grew up in a family of nine siblings. His father, a senior project manager in fluid mechanics at General Motors, worked until they wouldn’t let him anymore. “He was a hard-working guy,” Paul said. That work ethic carried into Paul’s own life. Now in his late 60s, he still intends to work past 70. It is through the support of federal programs like Medicaid and Social Security that Paul has been able to continue working since he qualified for disability in 1994. “I don’t want to stop working just because I have a disability,” he said. “My disability gives me abilities.”

But Paul’s access to Medicaid has not always been stable. “At times the state picks it up and sometimes they don’t,” Paul explained. “The adjustments have always been up and down through the last 15, 20 years.”

Still, he takes pride in doing his part. “I gladly take on the responsibility of helping the state out and pay for that when they need it,” he said. “I try to rely the least on the state as I possibly can.” For Paul, Medicaid means more than coverage. “It is an independence that Medicaid gives us, because it allows us to do what we were intended to do in the beginning.”

His passion for work extends beyond jobs. He sings, paints, and shares his story with others. “I love to perform,” he said. His artistic side is vibrant. He even sang at Notre Dame Cathedral in France with his choir. “It was angelic, and the hair on the back of my neck still stands up when I think of it.”

More than art and performance, Paul values the ability to connect. He found a sense of community and stability at Charterhouse, a psychosocial rehabilitation program in Lansing, Michigan that receives a significant portion of its funding through Medicaid. “Charterhouse has really been a really good place to socialize and to work,” Paul said. “It plays an important role and has for 20 years for me.”

He describes Charterhouse as a place of healing and structure. This structure has helped Paul and countless others avoid costly hospitalizations. “One trip to the hospital, let’s say they stay there a week, that costs the same amount with the ambulance ride there,” he said. “A full year of membership at Charterhouse costs about the same as a hospitalization for one week on a psych ward.”

With support from Medicaid and the Charterhouse community, Paul has transformed his story. Through decades of hardship, art, work, and healing, Paul has continued to do what his mother told him long ago: keep moving. “Idle hands are the workplace of something terrible,” she warned. So, he works. He sings. He paints. He helps others. And he speaks up for those who can’t.