That’s Medicaid
Health insurance coverage provides people with access to the care they need—when they need it. That’s Medicaid shares stories of people helped by Medicaid at critical points in their lives.
“Medicaid opened the door for my education and propelled me into lifelong service for our country.”
Update: Laverne has relocated to Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
LaVerne excelled as a property manager after graduating from high school. But at six months pregnant, she could no longer handle being on call 24 hours a day, and decided to go to college.
LaVerne and her son were covered by Medicaid while she finished her bachelor’s degree in nursing. On graduation day in 1986, she called the Medicaid office to be removed from the program because her employer-sponsored insurance was kicking in. She was ready to give back to the community.
LaVerne’s career took off, working as a clinical director before enlisting in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, where she served as a captain and head nurse of her unit. After retiring from the military, she obtained master’s and doctorate degrees, which she uses to promote community health through consulting and ministry work.
“Without Medicaid, I would have had to continue working to keep my medical coverage instead of getting my education. Medicaid allowed me to go through doors that I couldn’t have otherwise, and be of greater service to this country.”