Share Your Story: The Flip Side of the Coin

So many ways my family and I have benefitted!I certainly never planned on my partner getting sick during my first pregnancy. But it happened, he lost his job, and we lost our insurance. Medicaid allowed me to have two healthy and happy pregnancies. Both my children are on Medicaid-funded forms of health insurance now. My daughter receives Social Security from her biological father, who became 100% disabled shortly after her birth. This money pays for her childcare. She is about to start Headstart this year. Essentially, the government has invested in my family and in me.. Because of this investment, we've been able to get back on our feet. We've been able to have two thriving, happy, healthy children who are very well-educated. We've been healthy enough to give back to our community through activism and volunteerism.  

During my marriage, I worked as a part-time adjunct professor because of child-rearing.  After our divorce, I continued teaching at the same university where I could gain health insurance.  Despite being an adjunct, I needed to teach at the fulltime level in order to have health insurance coverage. Reaching 65 gave me access to both Medicare and Social Security, and these have enabled me to retire from fulltime teaching.  Now that I am 70, what would I do without Medicare and Social Security?  These are essential foundations for most seniors in this country.  Perhaps the small wealthy elite do not understand the lives of most Americans:  we need these governmental policies.  And, our adult children need these policies, because otherwise they would have the stress and strain of trying to aid us.

I'm 81. Since April 1st  I've paid out $800 to Medicare having numerous health problems. Do the math: Divide 800 by 0.2. That's 4000: the amount I would have paid out of pocket. Enough said.

I lost my job in January 2010. I was in a car accident that left me without a vehicle, which my job depended on. I caught the H1N1 virus, which caused pneumonia and forced me into the hospital for a week. And I was looking at taking even more time off, as I was about 7 months pregnant at the time. I was horribly stressed from trying to get to work and trying to do work, while trying to keep up on my pre-natal care. Without unemployment, I wouldn't have been able to eat and pay my bills. After trying to navigate to medical appointments and interviews at DSS, in the winter in Buffalo, I missed the chance to attend the childbirth class and breastfeeding class that my other mom friends had gone to. I was totally unprepared when my doctor told me that I would be induced and even less prepared when 15 hours later I was wheeled in for an emergency c-section. My angel was born with fluid in her lungs and a blockage in her intestines, but the doctors and nurses were amazing - she is laying next to me now healthy and perfect. I cried when I saw the bill from the NICU, but thankful that Medicaid covered it all. When I was able to bring her home, it was WIC that kept my cupboards stocked and gave me the support and education in breastfeeding that I had missed out on. Even with the assistance though, we weren't making it financially and had to move in with my parents. People don't realize that it takes money to get a job. I was lucky a year after my daughter was born to learn that I was being offered a job with our county's Child Protective Services office (With some thanks to my 95 on the civil service exam). But, if I didn't have  the unemployment coming in, I wouldn't have had money for the interview suit and parking in the urban where the office is and I definitely wouldn't have had the down payment for day care. I am ecstatic that I no longer need to use these services, but am thankful that these services were there when I needed and don't want to see anyone denied them.