During one of our outreach events, we spoke with a 59-year-old female. 

She indicated that she was sick and needed to see a doctor but unfortunately, she didn’t have health insurance for the past ten years.  Additionally, she shared that she only works part time and has no stable employment.  After talking to her for a brief moment, we convinced her to make an appointment to come into our office so that we could explore what, if any, healthcare plans may be available that she would feel comfortable with.  She scheduled an appointment and we planned on seeing her in the office.  Her appointment came and went and she didn’t show for her appointment.  We tried several times to reach out to her but she didn’t respond to any of our phone calls.  We finally reached her on our final attempt and were able to schedule a second appointment for her to come into the office.  Again, she was a no-call, no-show. 

Determined to assist her, we reached out to her several more times and again she didn’t return our calls.  When we finally were able to speak with her, she expressed that she was doubtful that we could assist her and that she was afraid any of the plans that we find would be prohibitively expensive.  After a few minutes of listening to her and providing some suggestions and empathy, she agreed to schedule a third appointment to come in.

For her third appointment, she showed up and was on time.  We were able to create an account for her in the Healthcare Marketplace Exchange and reviewed a number of insurance plans.  As fortune would have it, after completing the application in its entirety, the Marketplace identified a plan with no monthly premium after reviewing several plans.  Needless to say, she was ecstatic.  She shared that with only a part time job, she was afraid of and had no idea how she would ever be able to afford any type of insurance, with or without assistance navigating the health exchange.  Without hesitation, she signed up to a plan and anxiously waited for her insurance card.

Last week this participant called to thank us, shared that she visited a doctor and was happy that she had a physical.  Moreover, she was able to schedule lab work to further assist with determining her overall health and well-being.  While saying good bye on the phone, she said, “Thank you for the words of encouragement and your persistence to help and all of your follow up.  If not for you, I would still be without insurance and without a way to see a doctor.”