Alaska - Medicaid gives my son the care he needs

A Share Your Story submission - Alaska

I am a single mom to a wonderful little boy who has special health needs and has been to his fair share of doctor visits, plus a hospital stay. For most of his life he has had Medicaid coverage, even when I didn’t have health insurance myself.

He needs therapy services a couple times a week and those bills alone would have been a struggle for me. Another challenge we faced for his health was constant ear infections. Finally his pediatrician and I decided that he would benefit from getting drainage tubes in his ears. At the time I had started a job with amazing benefits, but it would have been really tough trying to pay the $3,000 medical bill on my own. Thankfully, with coverage from my work as well as Medicaid, the bill was paid.

Without Medicaid, even with great insurance from my job, I would be struggling to pay for the care that my son needs. I would have to choose which bills should be paid or maybe not be able to pay my rent.

I am grateful that we have Medicaid coverage because it has helped my family so much.

Medicaid matters.