Terri: Galva, KS

In March of 2018, Terri was on her way to pick up her cap and gown for her Associate of Arts graduation ceremony when she started experiencing debilitating back pain. Because she was covered by Medicaid, she was able to see a doctor who diagnosed her with scoliosis, degenerative bone disease, and bulging discs in her back. On that day, Terri was able to get the care she needed. But she knows all too well what it’s like not to have insurance coverage. 

In 2015, Terri lost her Medicaid coverage because she was making $800 a month as a cashier at a local corner store, which was above the income limit – just $659 a month – for a single parent with one child in Kansas. Despite making too much money to qualify for Medicaid, Terri still struggled to support herself and her daughter and she struggled to control her chronic health conditions. Terri has asthma and borderline COPD, which require inhalers and nebulizers to help her breathe. But while she was uninsured for three years, Terri couldn’t see a doctor or get her prescriptions refilled. During this time, Terri resorted to using expired inhalers as sparingly as possible to treat her asthma when she had an attack.

Just one month before she was approved to resume Medicaid coverage, Terri used the last puff on her inhaler. She says that she would not be here today if she those expired inhalers hadn’t worked, and she doesn’t know what would have happened if she weren’t able to again qualify for Medicaid coverage when her income decreased. Since regaining Medicaid coverage, Terri has been able to visit a pulmonologist to treat her asthma and COPD, and she’s able to get new inhalers. Terri is grateful for access to the health care coverage that she needs.