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Julia Rion has managed Crohn's disease since childhood, but even with employer-sponsored insurance, she spent $500 to $1,000 a month out of pocket on care, accumulating $5,000 in medical debt in a single year. After losing her job, Medicaid expansion coverage in New York gave her the stability her previous insurance couldn't, but it didn't erase the fear of what a lifetime of chronic illness could cost her.
Priced out of her husband's employer plan, Abbey Diamond decided to stay uninsured, telling herself, "I'll just hope for the best." Then a piece of food became lodged in her throat, leading to emergency surgery and a $17,000 hospital bill she is still paying off, all while she fears what happens to her family's care once her postpartum Medicaid coverage ends.
Lee Thompson works full time in Nebraska's food industry, but his employer offers no health benefits, making Medicaid essential to his care. When dental pain became unbearable, he had to fight to get an appointment, and a roughly $700 annual dental cap on his coverage left him paying the difference out of pocket for a root canal that, to this day, remains unfinished with no crown.
Keaton Herzer describes navigating his cancer treatment as fighting a system "designed to wear me down and get me to quit." Between insurance denials for a targeted therapy and, later, a life-saving liver transplant, he and his wife drained their savings account and spent a month appealing decisions, all while he was still living scan to scan, unsure if he would survive.
A Georgia mechanic and caretaker, Paul Mikell spent years avoiding the doctor, treating his own injuries and managing high blood pressure through sheer discipline. Medicaid through Georgia's Pathways to Coverage program changed that
Kelly Gunn, a 46-year-old Virginia resident with employer-sponsored insurance, was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer in July 2024 and faced thousands in out-of-pocket costs. She later learned her bill could be slashed by 50% or more once it reached collections, leading her to advocate for transparent, consistent pricing from the first bill rather than after financial hardship sets in.
When Meagan's 22-month-old son collapsed in her arms — doctors sent her straight to the ER, where he got a Pedialyte popsicle and a few hours of monitoring. Then came the bill. With no clear explanation from the hospital or insurer and no path to appeal, Meagan and her husband were left responsible for nearly the entire cost.
When Jen Jobe was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at age 38, her focus was survival. She did not expect that years after treatment ended, she would still be fighting the financial consequences of staying alive.
Susan Alleman is a 57-year-old resident of Lincoln, Nebraska, who spent most of her adult life uninsured and hoping for the best. She had seen the health care system up close — navigating it alongside her partner during his long illness before he died of cancer in 2021, and then again with her father in 2023. By 2024, it was her turn.
Carmilla Collins is a 51-year-old single mother living in Douglas County, Omaha, Nebraska. She works full time and holds a part-time job to make ends meet, raising her 15-year-old daughter while supporting herself on paychecks that leave little margin for error — and even less for unexpected medical bills. For the better part of a year and a half, she had no health insurance at all.