Kansas Stories: Valerie
August 2024
Valerie is a wife and mother from Wichita who is working toward a degree in the social sciences.
Valerie and her husband, Charlie, have been married for 17 years and have two children. Her husband became disabled in 2017 and receives disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. Valerie also helps care for her father, who has started showing signs of dementia. She spends her free time doing whatever she can to help those around her, including advocating for the unhoused population in Wichita.
Valerie’s 15-year old son receives Medicaid, because he is under the age of 18. Her husband also receives Medicaid because of his disability determination. But Valerie is left in the uninsured coverage gap.
In Kansas, adults don’t currently qualify for Medicaid unless they meet certain exceptions. Valerie’s husband meets an exception because of his disability determination, but Valerie does not, so she falls into the coverage gap.
Valerie wants to work full-time, but she has psoriasis, an autoimmune disease, and a heart condition. Her health care provider believes she may also have sciatic arthritis, but she can’t afford the diagnostic tests needed to get a proper diagnosis — tests that are covered by most health insurance plans and Medicaid. Her health conditions make it hard for her to work full-time.
Without health insurance she is unable to see a rheumatologist or cardiologist. These specialists could ensure Valerie is receiving proper care and medications.
Since Valerie does not have insurance, she receives some medications from the manufacturer but that isn’t a consistent, long-term plan because sometimes her medications aren’t available. While her heart condition seems stable now, she worries that it will worsen and she won’t be able to get the health care she needs.
She is grateful that her husband and son have Medicaid coverage, but as their primary caretaker, she worries about who would care for them if something happened to her. Not long ago Valerie was very sick and went to the emergency room. She found out she was nearly septic, but fortunately instead of being admitted to the hospital, she was prescribed oral antibiotics and able to go home. If she had needed hospitalization, it would have put her already struggling family into debt they couldn’t afford.
Not having access to Medicaid takes a toll on Valerie’s mental health and causes her a lot of unneeded stress. Access to health insurance coverage reduces stress and increases worker productivity. Expanding Medicaid in Kansas would allow Valerie to get back to work and lower her stress.
“I wish those of us who don’t have insurance and have health concerns weren’t headed into a category and marginalized, because a lot of us want to be productive – and could be – if we just felt better,” she said.
Medicaid expansion would help Valerie and the thousands of Kansans in the coverage gap just like her to be able work and provide a better life for her family.