Steven Leaton: A Father Fighting for His Family’s Future With Medicaid

Steven Leaton lives in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Rosemary, and their two daughters, Brianna and Hailey. For Steven and his family, Medicaid isn’t just a government program, it’s what keeps them going. 

“I worked at a locally owned family restaurant for the last 10 years or so,” Steven explains. “My job doesn’t offer health insurance, so I get health coverage through Medicaid.” 

That coverage is critical. Steven lives with a serious heart condition and relies on a pacemaker and daily medication to stay alive. One of those medications, Entresto, would cost nearly $400 a month without insurance. “Without this drug, I’d suffer from the crippling effects of heart failure,” he says. “I wouldn’t be able to work. My life would be at risk.” 

But Steven isn’t the only one in his household who depends on Medicaid. 

His daughter Hailey also relies on it for her health and safety. She lives with autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and a seizure disorder. She’s a joyful child who loves Sesame Street, matching puzzles, and playing games on her tablet. 

“Medicaid makes sure Hailey gets the medical care she needs,” Steven says. “It covers the medications that help keep her seizures under control, which means she can go to school safely. She won’t fall and hurt herself. And she loves going to school.” 

The Leatons live in a mobile home park and, like many working families, live paycheck to paycheck. Without Medicaid, the cost of rent, food, utilities, and lifesaving medications would be impossible to manage. 

“I need to keep Medicaid so I can work and provide for my family,” Steven says. “To pay the rent, to keep Hailey seizure-free, to make sure we’re okay.” 

His plea is simple, and urgent: “Please don’t take our health care away from us.”