Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act saved me and many others. We must protect them | Opinion
In 2019, at just 31 years old, I was diagnosed with cancer.
I was young, healthy, and relatively active. The diagnosis hit me like a freight train. What followed was a whirlwind of doctors, treatments, surgeries, and countless questions about my future.
But the one question I never had to ask was whether I would be able to get the life-saving care I needed or be saddled with a tremendous amount of medical debt. Thanks to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), I could focus on surviving, not on whether I could afford to survive.
Without them, I would not be here today. The road to recovery was hard enough without the added burden of worrying about the financial devastation that often accompanies a serious illness. Medicaid and the ACA gave me a lifeline and a safety net that ensured I could get the treatment I needed, when I needed it, without the crushing worry of medical bankruptcy.
This is not an exaggeration. When I was first diagnosed, I was between jobs and didn’t have employer-provided insurance. That’s where Medicaid, expanded under the ACA, came in. Medicaid expansion in Kentucky, which took effect in 2014, allowed me to be eligible for coverage despite my lack of income and insurance history. It was an absolute game-changer.
Medicaid expansion was one of the most important health care reforms Kentucky has ever seen. Before its expansion, many Kentuckians, particularly those in rural areas and low-income brackets, found themselves without insurance coverage regardless of their medical needs. The expansion brought the state’s uninsured rate to historic lows, saving countless lives—mine among them. According to the Cabinet of Health and Family Services, under the ACA, more than 500,000 Kentuckians gained access to healthcare coverage, drastically reducing the number of people who fell through the cracks.
For me, Medicaid not only provided the financial support I needed for treatments and multiple surgeries, but it also offered peace of mind. That peace of mind allowed me to remain strong and fight harder during my treatment, knowing ultimately that I was not fighting alone.
However, the fight to protect Medicaid and the ACA is far from over. In recent years, we’ve seen attempts to chip away at these programs and pieces of landmark legislation, whether through proposed cuts, work requirements, or other roadblocks that threaten to push people back into a system where they cannot afford necessary care. We must not let this happen.
Medicaid and the ACA were lifesaving for me, and they have been for countless others across Kentucky and the nation, but there is still work to be done. Democrats must continue to fight for the protection and expansion of these programs. The importance of affordable, accessible healthcare cannot be overstated, and it must remain a central focus of our policy efforts moving forward.
The evidence is clear: Medicaid expansion in Kentucky has worked. It has saved lives, reduced the uninsured rate, and provided critical coverage to those who need it most. But these programs are always under threat, and those of us who benefit from them cannot afford to be complacent. In Kentucky, we must continue to defend safeguards for Medicaid and ensure that the ACA’s protections remain strong. As someone who has directly benefited from them, I can tell you: They save lives.
Our health should never be a political bargaining chip. It should be a basic right that everyone can count on, regardless of their circumstances. Let’s keep fighting for that right—for ourselves, for our neighbors, and for the people who may not yet realize how much they depend on these programs until they, too, face a diagnosis that could change their lives forever.
We must protect Medicaid and the ACA—now and always.
Cara Ellis is a regional activist and organizer in Appalachia currently serving as President of Pikeville Pride, a non-profit dedicated to highlighting the visibility and inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals in eastern Kentucky.