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.

When the Unexpected Happens

A Lifeline

John L. / Watertown, Massachusetts

His story in four photos

“I feel really blessed to have had this coverage.”

John is self-employed and does construction, landscaping, and general maintenance work, often without benefits or health insurance.

Now in his early 60s, he was living for a number of years with a hernia before it became strangulated, sending him to the emergency room and eventually into surgery.

After being discharged he feared the cost of the operation would set him back indefinitely, but a local nonprofit helped him apply for Medicaid, bringing him a great deal of relief. “I feel really blessed to have had this coverage,” he says.

While he will be on Medicare in a few years, Medicaid is providing him a “peace of mind” these days. “I’m on the mend now and feeling like a million bucks,” John says.