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Valuable Voices,
     Powerful Stories

Valuable Voices,
     Powerful Stories

People’s Experience

At Families USA, we share a conviction that the people — a patient, consumer, or advocate — should be at the forefront of our mission to achieve improved health and health care for all.

Our goal is to bring storytellers like you into the conversation, so policymakers better understand who we are advocating for, and why these changes are so important.

You are the voice, the face, and the push behind the policy, and your story matters.

Health Care Coverage

People in every state deserve access to affordable, equitable, and comprehensive health coverage that meets their needs. But, too many people in America are falling through the cracks in our system, leaving them paying too much for too little care, or not able to afford any insurance at all. Choose a story below to learn more about coverage experiences.
Genesis Lee: A Colorado Mother Fighting to Keep Medicaid for Her Children

Genesis Lee lives in Westminster, Colorado, and is the mother of two children. Her oldest, Jasper, turns five in September. Her youngest, Athena, is two. Both of her children have autism and ADHD. Athena also has a brain tumor, a cyst and experiences constant seizures. “Without Medicaid, I wouldn’t be able to afford the special therapies or doctor’s appointments or MRIs that we have to do or epilepsy overnight stays or sleep studies,” Genesis said.

Read Genesis’s story
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Stan Clawson: Living with Disability, Fighting for Affordable Health Care

Stan Clawson was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah where he runs a small business in filmmaking. In 2012, he dedicated himself full time to his small business as a freelance filmmaker. That decision meant relying on the Affordable Care Act marketplace for coverage.

Read Stan’s story
Orion Ortolf: Cuts to MaineCare Would Devastate My Community

Orion Ortolf is a 37-year-old living in Lewiston, Maine. They are currently a full-time student earning a master's degree in social work to become a clinical therapist. Orion became uninsured when they aged out of their parent's coverage at 26 until they were accepted to Maine’s Medicaid program, MaineCare, allowing them to get access to essential health care services that they wouldn’t be able to afford out-of-pocket.

Read Orion’s story
More Health Care Coverage Stories

Health Equity

Everyone in America should have the opportunity to live their healthiest life no matter who we are, where we are from, or where we live. Our current health care system does not make improved health for all its primary focus, particularly for Black and brown communities, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and other historically oppressed groups. Choose a story below to learn more about health equity experiences.
Tomeka James: A Mother’s Story of Loss, Survival, and Advocacy for Maternal Care

In 2017, Tomeka James Isaac was pregnant with her first and only son, Jace. At 40 years old, she was told early on that she would be at high risk for pre-eclampsia, yet despite this ominous warning, Tomeka’s pregnancy was progressing smoothly. Until, at her 35-week appointment, complications began.

Read Tomeka’s story
Kea Dupree: Honoring the Whole Person: Kea’s Birth Experience

Kea had a plan. Pregnant with her first child, she knew she wanted a natural birth, and she wanted her birth experience to be an experience that was unique to her. However, she felt dismissed by doctors when she made requests, and ignored at appointments. Kea switched to a birth center, and everything changed for the better.

Read Kea’s story
Tamara Hamilton: Challenges of COVID-19 Testing Criteria

Tamara's 18 month old grandson fell ill with a slight cough and signs mirroring COVID-19, but was not tested by his pediatrician. After his oxygen levels dropped, he was taken to the ER but was still not tested for COVID-19 due to not meeting testing criteria.

Read Tamara’s story

Health Care Value

As a nation, we spend over $4 trillion each year on health care, but our health and health care are not improving. More than half of Americans are worried about affording health care and a third are forced to choose between paying the rent check or the grocery bill, and their medical bills. We deserve better, higher-quality health care. Choose a story below to learn more health care value experiences.
Kelly Fryman: Surviving on Samples, Praying They Don’t Run Out

Kelly Fryman, a 63-year-old woman living with diabetes in Florida, has spent years working to keep her condition under control. At first, Kelly managed her condition with medications such as Trulicity and Mounjaro. Eventually, she switched to Farziga because of cost, but even that became unaffordable. The only way she can stay on the medication is through free samples from her doctor.

Read Kelly’s story
Adrienne R: How a Surprise Facility Fee Left Her Fighting the System

Adrienne, a Pennsylvania resident and mother of two, never expected a simple diagnostic procedure to lead to over a year of financial and emotional distress. In February 2024, she underwent a thyroid biopsy at a hospital she knew well, the hospital where she gave birth to both of her children and one she visits frequently for appointments. Everything about the process felt routine—until the bill arrived.

Read Adrienne’s story
The Matthews Family: The $4,500 Pill: How a Hospital Visit Became a Financial Nightmare

Jim and Teresa Matthews never imagined that a hospital visit could unravel into a financial bureaucratic nightmare. When Teresa was hospitalized after a sudden episode of transient global amnesia—a rare, temporary loss of memory—they discovered a hidden flaw that left them with a $4,500 bill for a single day’s worth of medication and no clear path to challenge it.

Read Jim’s story