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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.
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
Mariah Plante works full time in Wyoming County, West Virginia, while serving as the primary caregiver for her brother Matt, who is legally blind and has nonverbal autism. Medicaid keeps Matt living at home with family rather than in a facility — but as threats to that coverage mount and the cost of her own ACA plan climbs, Mariah is navigating an impossible balancing act that millions of working caregivers across the country know all too well.
Maggie Sanchez is a Medicaid beneficiary, a mother of a child with disabilities, and a caregiver for a loved one living with severe mental illness. When she talks about what proposed federal Medicaid cuts would mean, she is not speaking theoretically.
Kathleen Downes is 32 years old and lives on Long Island where she works as a social worker and a board-certified patient advocate. Kathleen was born with cerebral palsy, a lifelong physical disability that affects all four limbs and her motor functions. She uses a wheelchair and needs assistance with every activity of daily living, including bathing, dressing and eating. Medicaid makes it possible for her to live in her community, not in an institution.
Hannah Bink never expected to become a care coordinator, benefits navigator, and family mediator all at once. But as her grandparents’ health declined, that is exactly what she became.
Nan Macklin is a Community Health Worker in the Bootheel region of Missouri, serving families who rely on Medicaid and Medicare. She works with seniors and small children in one of the poorest counties in the state. Nan explained that between 80-90% of the patients she serves rely on some form of state assistance. Her connection to Medicaid is personal as well as professional. As a single mother, she utilized Medicaid for her daughter's health care.
Dariya Walker is a high school student in Florissant, Missouri. Dariya and her family use Medicaid to access health care services, and she appreciates the peace of mind that having coverage gives her and her family.