Mel and his wife don’t know what they will do if the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is repealed without a replacement. Mel voted for Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. But he says he’ll never vote Republican again. He’s angry about the climate of divisiveness in this country, about Republican threats to cut Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security — which he’ll […]

Untreated mental health issues can prevent people from working and leading full lives. This woman worries about her future if she can’t afford the right care. Bipolar disorder has been in the news a lot lately following the death of Carrie Fisher, who was very open about the challenges she faced living with this mental health condition. A mood disorder, […]

Protections remain in place to prevent trans-specific exclusions, so enroll before the January 31 deadline for 2017. Let’s face it: There’s a lot of uncertainty right now about the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, but that’s no reason for anyone to put off getting signed up for insurance in 2017. In fact, there is no better […]

Having access to health insurance has saved this young woman’s life. Her mother doesn’t know how she will survive without it. When I saw the subject line on the email, my heart dropped to the floor: “Please don’t let my daughter die.” Jean had seen my call for stories about the difference the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, has […]

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, John’s 22-year-old son remained covered under his insurance, just when they needed it most. It wasn’t your typical nosebleed. When John came home from his job as a union tradesman one day in August, his son had a “gusher” of a nosebleed, he says. John immediately saw his son needed to be in the […]

If he didn’t have health insurance, Jason isn’t sure how he would have paid for gallbladder surgery. Changing careers is never easy, but Jason Cole knew it was the right decision for him. He left his job as a correctional officer to return to school to fulfill his dream of becoming a high school history teacher, because he wanted to […]

“There’s definitely going to be changes in the health care delivery system. We can’t just continue to squeeze providers to say this is how we are going to save money. It’s forcing health care providers … into some very different actions that in most people’s opinion is unhealthy … At some point or another we have to be responsible or […]

Without insurance, Mark would have put off the care he needed to save his tooth. Sometimes, it’s the little things. Mark admits he’s not one of the people whose lives have been saved by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare. But having insurance did save his tooth. The 26-year-old, who lives in Portland, Oregon, is a bike commuter because […]

If insurance companies are allowed to deny coverage for people with pre-existing conditions as they did in the past, her story could be very different. Sarah was born with a pre-existing condition: a club foot. One of her feet was facing the wrong direction, a birth defect that required two surgeries by the time she was two years old. Surgeons […]

Being able to semi-retire and move closer to her parents means being true to the family values that are important to her. When Laura’s parents began struggling with health issues in their 80s, she knew she didn’t want to wait for a “trigger event” — when one of them became seriously ill — to begin spending more time with them. […]

He sees not only the risk to his young son’s health, but to the economy and the country at large. When a healthy child starts having uncontrollable seizures out of the blue, it’s terrifying. So is the prospect of having to cope with a serious medical condition without health insurance. For Pete and his family, his six-year-old son’s diagnosis of […]