In the fight to make health care more affordable and available to all Americans, there is nothing more important than sharing personal stories. Health care and drug costs are far too high, and despite significant progress after the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), millions more need affordable access to health insurance. Too many Americans are being forced to choose between affording lifesaving prescriptions or paying for necessities like groceries or rent. And there are systemic inequities in our society and in our health care system that leave far too many behind.
To continue the fight to lower prices, increase coverage, and reduce disparities in health care, it is critical to amplify real stories. These types of stories were how we were able to pass the ACA and to protect it from repeal — and we now need them more than ever in our efforts to further expand health care to all Americans. That is what Protect Our Care’s “Your Health, Your Story” program is all about. Whether you are uninsured, suffering from a chronic illness and have trouble paying for medications or if your health costs are simply too high, we want to hear from you.
Meet Our Storytellers
Laura Packard (Denver, CO) is a cancer survivor and health care activist from Denver. In the spring of 2017, she was diagnosed with cancer (stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma). After a grueling 6 months of chemotherapy and a month of radiation treatment, she is in remission. For now. She says the Affordable Care Act saved her life. She's been blocked by President Trump on Twitter, thrown out of her U.S. Senator's town hall, and reached millions of people across the country with her story while fighting to protect our health care. In 2018, she started a non-profit called Health Care Voices to organize adults with serious medical conditions.
DonnaMarie Woodson (NC), a cancer survivor who relies on the Affordable Care Act’s protections for pre-existing conditions, blasted the Trump administration for working to rip health care away from Americans, even amid a public health crisis. If she hadn’t been insured through the ACA, she said she probably wouldn’t have had screening tests that led to her diagnoses with colon cancer and breast cancer in 2015. And without timely treatment, Woodson, 61, said, “I could have died.” Now that she’s recovered, with those “pre-existing conditions” on her medical record, she’s fighting against the push by Republican congressional leaders and supporters of President Donald Trump to dismantle the ACA.
Marcos Castillo (AZ): Nineteen years ago, Castillo survived a car crash that left him paralyzed from the collar bone down and depends on the 10-year-old health care law for his otherwise costly coverage. "The ACA is a tool that we have gotten in the last decade that has really been able to help people with disabilities get above poverty. It's not just about our health, it's about our quality of life," said Castillo, who also suffers from an autoimmune disease.
Himali Patel (Atlanta, GA) is a small business owner who relies on the ACA. Before the pandemic struck, Himali and her brother owned five small retail businesses. Due to the pandemic, they’ve had to make hard decisions, and they’re now down to one — a dry-cleaning establishment. They have seen a disheartening drop in their income as COVID-19 ravaged the economy. Patel, an Atlantan who has multiple medical conditions, has been getting her health insurance through the Georgia exchange. The federal Affordable Care Act created these exchanges in the various states so people who don’t have coverage through an employer or government agency can buy health insurance at a reasonable price. She had been paying $400 a month. With her drop in income, that’s now at $60. But with the American Rescue Plan, her premium should drop to zero.
Leighan Gonzales (Anchorage, AK) is an Anchorage resident who was born with a hole in her heart. She has had to have heart care throughout her life. She has met with Senator Murkowski personally about this issue especially as it relates to supporting people with pre existing conditions.
Jeff Jeans (Sedona, AZ) is self employed and when he was diagnosed with cancer, he knew this his junk health insurance plan that he knew would not cover his illness when he became very ill. His wife had received treatment that cost thousands of dollars out of pocket under the same policy. Jeff Jeans knew his insurance would not save him when he found out he had throat cancer. He knew that because when his wife had an illness, it cost them thousands out of pocket—about two-thirds of the bill. Jeans and his wife pulled together enough money for his cancer treatment, but without an insurance provider that could cover unforeseen emergencies, no one would treat him.
Mitch Lennet (Bethlehem, PA) is both a father of a child with type 1 diabetes, and also a type 1 diabetic himself since age 4. Together, he and his daughter Carly, now 14, advocate, educate and inspire people everywhere living with and battling this dreadful disease. Mitch and Carly started a foundation, The Team Carly Rocks Foundation, where Carly swims long distances with Olympians, to bring awareness to and raise money for, Type 1 diabetes. Carly has swam over 15 miles, and raised just under $200,000 to date for diabetes causes. They speak out for diabetes advocacy whenever they can and are committed to making lives better for people battling this, and any other illness or challenge they may be facing.
Max Fisher (Tucson, AZ), a Type 1 Diabetic, shared that he regularly travels across the border to Mexico to purchase his Insulin because it is far less expensive. “What would be a two to three thousand dollar bill for medical supplies that I need to live, I’m paying significantly lower, but I’m having to go to Mexico,” said FIsher. “I’m blessed to be close to the border, but there are millions of people across the country that need this medicine to live and they don’t have the option to drive across the border.”
Gretchen Landenburger (Cape May, NJ), 68, is a Medicare patient. She is immunocompromised with chronic bronchitis and takes 10 different medications every day, including breathing treatments that can be very time consuming.
“I have been on Medicare since last year, and it doesn’t cover three of the medications I need most, which used to give me freedom from needing to be home for multiple daily treatments,” said Landenburger. “I now have to pay up to $10,000 per year in medications, not including the nearly $4,000 per month medication I need the most, which I simply cannot afford. Something needs to change, and it is time for Congress to lower prescription drug prices.”
Mindy Salango (Morgantown, WV) is a mom and Type 1 diabetic. Even though she has health insurance through her employer, Mindy still spends about $350 every month paying for her prescription medications, insulins, and other diabetes supplies she needs to stay healthy and alive. “”Everybody knows somebody who’s diabetic. We need to treat everyone equally and allow everyone to receive the care that they need, and get the medication and supplies that they need to survive.”
