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“Medicaid allowed me to continue”

Erin Rumelhart was in nursing school when she found out she was pregnant.

Her parents’ insurance wouldn’t cover her pregnancy, and as a full-time student, she didn’t have health coverage.

The Missoula County Health Department helped her enroll in Medicaid – allowing Erin to continue attending school during her pregnancy and access important healthcare services for herself and her baby.

“I didn’t have to choose between being a mother and continuing my education,” she said.

With Medicaid coverage, Erin was able to get the pre-natal care she needed to ensure a healthy pregnancy for her and her daughter. She could also continue her studies, so that she could fulfill her lifelong dream of serving her community as a nurse.

“Knowing that my daughter had the best chance at her best life because she had healthcare meant I could focus on living my best life, and contributing to my community in the best way I know how – by becoming a nurse,” Erin said.

After graduating, she transitioned off of Medicaid when she got a job as a nurse and gained employer-sponsored health coverage.

Today, Erin is the Director of Nursing and Operations at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, in Polson, MT. There, she sees the importance of critical access hospitals on the lives of rural Montanans – many of whom rely on Medicaid for their own healthcare coverage.

“I have purpose every day I walk into St. Joseph,” she said. “Each day, something occurs for a patient or caregiver that helps them live a better life or lifts them up somehow.”

This year, Montana lawmakers will decide whether to continue the Montana Medicaid program as it is today.

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Find out about what’s at stake for Montanans.

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