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 […]

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 […]

For these two women, access to health insurance under the Affordable Care Act gives them the freedom to pursue their career goals. Phoebe Agena had a dream: to become a massage therapist. She graduated from massage school in 2009, but wasn’t able to find a job with benefits. So she began working part-time as a massage therapist while pulling enough […]

He and his friends care about protecting the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — and their health. Alex King knows that without the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, he wouldn’t have any health insurance. Because he just turned 25, he can stay on his parents’ insurance plan until he turns 26, one of the provisions of the ACA. After his […]

Without the Affordable Care Act, she would not have been able to get the surgery needed to treat her skin cancer. It’s frightening enough to be diagnosed with cancer, so imagine losing your health insurance just one month later. That’s what happened to Wendy back in 2011, when she was diagnosed with

The Affordable Care Act helped a young woman with an uncommon heart condition get the diagnosis and treatment that saved her life. It has been a long, tough road for Jae Stewart. At 33 years old, she’s already had multiple heart attacks and a stroke, was misdiagnosed with epilepsy and was so sidelined by escalating health issues that she was […]

New rule clarifies access to coverage and care for LGBT people, as anti-equality sentiment continues to run high. Discrimination against transgender people is nothing new — and it’s a problem that’s sadly going to get worse before it gets better. (See: North Carolina’s HB2.) Consider Jay Maddock of Kalamazoo, Mich., whose coverage for care he needs as a transgender man […]