Kansas stories: Stephanie

Stephanie is from Paola, Kansas. She is a mom of three children and a caretaker for her grandfather. When the pandemic hit, Stephanie lost her job. Like so many other Kansans, she struggled. Stephanie will lose her KanCare coverage during the renewal process. Since she owns her own cleaning business, she does not have access to employer-sponsored health insurance. Knowing this is a major stressor in Stephanie's life.

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Kansas Stories: Kenneth Hill

“My name is Kenneth Hill. I have many chronic conditions that I can’t get treated because I don’t have health insurance. Before I came to Kansas I lived in Missouri where I had the Truman discount [a hospital financial assistance program], so I was able to take care of my Hepatitis C and other chronic […]

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Kansas Stories: John

John is from McPherson, KS. He’s a father and he talks about the experiences and struggles his son is facing right now. John’s son is in the Medicaid coverage gap. John’s son has a mental health condition; he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and takes medication to treat it. He sometimes deals with aggressive episodes, […]

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Kansas Stories: Chrisie Stonequist

Chrisie Stonequist is from Wellsville, KS. She is a mom of two and is a grandma. She’s currently unemployed after losing her job due to her health condition. She has no health insurance because it’s not affordable and most of the time she loses her job before she gets her benefits. Chrisie struggles with her […]

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Kansas Stories: Vicki Pribble

Vicki Pribble is from Parsons, KS. She lives there with her two sons, Michael and Christopher. Vicki has insurance through Medicare and Christopher has health benefits from his dad, but Michael is unable to get health insurance. Michael lost his coverage through the Children’s Health Insurance Program when he turned 19 and he’s been without […]

Topics: All Consumer Stories, Behavioral Health, Disability Stories

Kansas Stories: Stephanne

Stephanne is from Jackson County. She is a mom and an active breastfeeding advocate for the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition, providing peer-to-peer breastfeeding support. She pushes for moms to have access to Medicaid for longer than the two months after the birth of their child. She also wants Medicaid expansion to happen in Kansas. Stephanne had […]

Topics: All Consumer Stories, Behavioral Health

Kansas Stories: Sarah

Sarah* is from Wichita. She spent her career in law enforcement and is now retired. She has a 29-year-old son who suffers from addiction. It’s because of him that Sarah began her advocacy for Medicaid expansion, even though talking about his addiction is painful for her. Sarah’s son has no health insurance and there isn’t […]

Topics: All Consumer Stories, Behavioral Health, Medical Debt Stories

Kansas Stories: Carolyn

Carolyn Thomas was uninsured for a significant portion of her children’s adolescence. Fortunately, those children were able to be covered by Medicaid. She is a single mother who worked in warehouses to earn a living, where she developed Achilles tendinitis. This made working long shifts at the warehouse immensely difficult. After working nine straight days […]

Topic: Behavioral Health