Cyndi is the mother of three who works part time. Her 10-year old daughter was born with Down syndrome a few years before the passage of the ACA. Cyndi’s husband had insurance for their family through his employer, but because of the significant services that their daughter needed, the family was forced to assume significant debt, including a loan on their home.
Gina is the mother of three young children.When Gina was 20 years old, she was an under insured college student who sought the preventative health screening services offered by Planned Parenthood. The screening she received detected pre-cancerous cells on her cervix. Thanks to the early detection she received from Planned Parenthood, Gina was able to receive treatment and remove the troubling cells, which she credits with enabling her to become a mother.
Carol is a part-time substitute teacher in Salisbury, MD. Carol was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1990, when her son was not even 5 years old. Carol relocated to be close to family in order for help with her son, but because her disease did not significantly affect her lifestyle, she remained uninsured, paying for any needed medical care out-of-pocket. However, in 2012 and 2013, her MS progressed significantly and she was essentially house-bound and unable to work.
Michael is a 64-year-old full-time care giver for his wife, who has advanced Multiple Sclerosis (MS). In 2013,Michael lost his job as an audio-visual contractor and lost his employer-sponsored insurance. He was on COBRA and paying early $900 per month for a plan with a $7,500 deductible and a $15,000 out-of-pocket limit. His COBRA coverage was set to expire on December 31, 2013. In October, however,Michael was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and immediately started a powerful 5-component chemotherapy treatment program in late January 2014. Thankfully, Michael was able to sign up on Virginia’s marketplace at the beginning of 2014, the first year of its existence.
Rodney is the President and CEO of Mackinac Straits, a small hospital system in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and is the 2017 recipient of the American Hospital Association’s Rural Leadership award. Mackinac Straits Health System includes a 48-bed nursing home and 15-bed critical access hospital.
Since 2015, Teresa Miller has served as Insurance Commissioner for Pennsylvania under Governor Tom Wolf. In Pennsylvania, more than 1.1 million people have gotten coverage through the marketplaces.
Ann lives with
multiple sclerosis and is covered by Medicare. Ann and her husband also
supported Ann's mother for the last decade and, after years of financial
stress, were able to get her mother into a nursing
home, with the cost of her care covered by Medicaid.
Diane is 75 years
old and lives in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C. She went
on Medicare at age 65. Five years ago, Diane was diagnosed with thyroid
cancer, and Medicare has covered the bills from the four surgeries, radioactive
iodine treatment, CT scans, sonograms, MRIs, and needle biopsies she has needed
to treat her cancer.
Kanisha receives
coverage through her parents' insurance plan because she is able to take
advantage of the ACA requirement that young adults be covered until age 26. She
also receives health care from Planned Parenthood. Kanisha recently went back
to Planned Parenthood to get a new IUD - years before her current one needed to
be replaced – because she is fearful that coverage for women's reproductive
health care will disappear when the ACA is repealed.
Alyce and her
husband were self-employed when they were able to get health insurance coverage
through the ACA exchange. Alyce's plan provided free prenatal care, including
prenatal tests, while she was pregnant with her son Sam. When Sam was
unexpectedly born with serious birth defects, her plan covered all his
intensive care and surgery costs. Sam now receives care through Medicaid, which
has covered every test and exam that he has needed.
Holly is
self-employed as a nonprofit consultant in Cleveland and runs her own LLC.
Holly was able to access mental and behavioral health services through
Medicaid. She now has regular meetings with a therapist and is also able to
access medications through her Medicaid coverage. Holly says, "This care
not only saved my life, but also gave me back my life. Thanks to Medicaid, I am
becoming the professional I want to be again - and the person I want to be
again."
Colleen and her husband purchased their
home in 1963, and after 55 years Financial Freedom, their reverse mortgage
servicer, is trying to foreclose their home.
Lupe is a 47 year old, single mother of
six. She worked at Carl’s Jr. in Las Vegas for seven years. Lupe worked long
hours, often not getting paid for her hours worked.
Laura worked for Mr. Puzder at Carl’s
Jr. Ms. McDonald worked more than 60 hours a week, but the Labor budget only
allowed her to be paid 47.5 hours per week.
Roberto worked at Carl’s Jr. in Los
Angeles, where he resides, and ran into a lot of problems with management at
the restaurant. He was never paid for the extra hours worked. Roberto once went
on vacation and asked for his check, he never received it, even after new
management.
