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After a lymphoma diagnosis and a stint on Medicaid, Arizona resident Jessica Pineda thought she was back on track when she secured employer-sponsored coverage. But a surprise $1,250 facility fee forced her to cancel a procedure she urgently needs, leaving a cancer survivor with worsening symptoms and no clear path to care.
Andy Keith is a 26-year-old resident of Wichita, Kansas who depends on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace to manage her complex medical conditions. As a teenager, she was diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases, Graves and Hashimoto’s, and a thyroid imbalance. Up until last year, Andy was covered by her parents’ private plan. Now, she has a marketplace plan that provides full coverage for her medical care.
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.
Tina Roath is a 54-year-old woman with five children living in Kansas City, Missouri. She depends on Medicaid to help cover the care she needs. Though not her first time using the program — she previously relied on it for secondary coverage during her pregnancies — she now depends on it to manage a recently developed disability.
After two heart transplants and ongoing health complications, Andrea Martin relies on Medicaid for life-sustaining medications, specialist care, and mental health support. Any cuts to her coverage would be devastating — not just for her survival, but for her two sons and the disabled community that depends on these essential services.
Anne Marie Schneider lives in Durham, North Carolina, and has spent more than three decades working across nearly every corner of the health care system. After losing her job with only days to act, Anne Marie and her husband turned to the ACA Marketplace. Given their circumstances, the family qualified for enhanced ACA tax credits, but without subsidies, the cost was impossible.
It took years for Heidi Pomerleau to get the health coverage they need to manage their permanent disability. Now covered by Medicaid and Medicare, Heidi lives in constant fear that they will lose access to care if the programs are cut. Now Heidi fights to help other people get insurance coverage through Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Renee Arnold has spent her life caring for people with disabilities, yet she cannot afford health insurance for her own husband. As premiums skyrocket, she faces impossible choices between housing, health care, and financial survival.