I Spent My College Years Without Healthcare. Now I'm Speaking Out to Improve the System

O.F. is a young dietitian in Davie, FL. Her difficulties receiving healthcare began in 2001 with the unexpected passing of her father.  O.F’s mother, who is disabled, did everything she could to try and make up for the loss of the family’s breadwinner. She applied for widower’s benefits, Medicaid, and food stamps.  At the time, O.F. qualified for Medicaid and was able to receive the medical and dental care she needed.  All of that changed when she reached the age of 18.

At 18, while still in high school, O.F. was dropped from Medicaid. She went to college and still had no way to receive care—not even basic medical and dental checkups.  She recalls having a dental infection during those years that she could not afford to address. She fought through the pain to maintain her college assignments and part-time job.  “In my head I was doing everything right,” she remembers, “being a responsible kid, not going to parties and trying to get my mom and me out of the difficult situation we were in.”

O.F. applied for Medicaid and after being immediately turned down, she went to a Medicaid office in Homestead, FL to plead her case in person. The representative informed her that, in Florida, single adults with no children are not eligible for Medicaid, no matter their income. O.F. was at a loss and left, still uninsured.

Her tooth pain continued for over four months. She relied on ER visits and antibiotics to keep the infection at bay.  She saved every penny she earned to afford the dental care she so desperately needed.

When she graduated from college she was finally able to obtain a full time job with health insurance. The plan required her to pay $20 per month. She wondered, “Why didn’t I have this before? Why don’t all jobs provide workers what they need?”

Now that she's insured, O.F. uses her experience to raise awareness about the barriers everyday Floridians face trying to get health coverage and care. “Navigating the health care system isn’t easy,” she says. “Our decision makers, our legislators, need to think about healthcare in a way that is more inclusive for the people that are really trying hard. My motivation for sharing my story is to get others to see healthcare, not only from a data perspective, seeing constituents only as numbers, but to realize that every number has a story. We are the people. We are the stories.”

Nearly 500,000 hardworking Floridians like O.F. fall into the health coverage gap. They earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, yet not enough to receive the Marketplace tax credits that make private coverage affordable. For 10 years, Florida’s state legislators have had the opportunity to expand Medicaid to cover Floridians earning below the poverty level while saving the state $200 million a year. It’s time to give ALL Floridians the security of health coverage. It’s time to expand Medicaid.

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