Hear the Stories

Mark and his family own a small lumber company that has operated in the community since 1873. When the family acquired the company, they kept the previous benefits and continued to pay two-thirds of all employee and family medical coverage costs. Mark worked alongside his employees for years and makes sure they have the health care coverage they need to stay healthy.

Three years ago, Nancy was diagnosed and treated for stage-four uterine cancer. At the time, Nancy was covered under Washington State's Basic Health plan. Although she had coverage at the time of her surgery and chemotherapy, she has since lost coverage and is unable to pay for valuable follow-up care.

Chris thought his medical troubles were over after successfully completing the chemotherapy and radiation for his leukemia - but after losing his health care coverage, he has been forced to make countless decisions against getting the tests, surgeries and basic medical care he knows he needs because he cannot afford them.

Sarita lost her health coverage when she left her county and city government job to start her own printing business. At the height of her business, Sarita had 10 employees but could not afford to provide health coverage for them. She has since had to change her business model and now contracts only with independent contractors for the printing work she does.

Catherine Edwards, 54, Carthage, Illinois, is a divorced mother of two children, Renee, 21, and Douglas, 15. Until April of last year she worked as a machine operator for an automobile parts manufacturer.

When Becky and Jimmy's son Tommy was only two weeks old, his doctors diagnosed him with heart disease. This was only the beginning of several serious health problems to strike Tommy in his first two months. His heart surgery led to other complications, including a stroke and bowel infection, so he had to be monitored in the hospital for six additional weeks. Afterwards, Becky and Jimmy took Tommy home where he was able to recover and play with his older brother, Andy.

Jessica is a part-time daycare worker with three children on PeachCare, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in Georgia. All three of her children—five-year-old Timothy, two-year-old Reanne and stepdaughter, Lexi—receive excellent care through the program.

"Health care is an essential need for anyone to survive. As the costs to receive it are rising, less and less people are now covered in case of a medical emergency."

"Sometimes you don't know what you have till it's gone. Both of my parents are hard working and loving parents. My dad always had a stable job and my mom was a substitute teacher while my two brothers and I were growing up. My father's employer provided excellent health insurance for our family. One day that all changed."

Tony Morris worked an automotive plant for 25 years before the plant closed, leaving him unemployed and his children uninsured. He was relieved to receive news that his children would be covered through the CoverTN program.