“I would never been able to afford what I needed, much less the doctor appointments.”
Bailey Torgerson was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was 2.5 years old.
“I could tell it was different from how the rest of the kids were. My blood sugars would tank super quickly with activity,” she said. “I carried around a teddy bear that had patches around all these places where you could do injections. Nurses would be like, ‘Alright Bailey, your mom will give you shots wherever you give your teddy bear a shot.’ ”
Along with dealing with a complicated chronic disease, growing up Bailey’s family never had much money and faced a series of financial uncertainties, including losing their home after her dad was laid off. Despite the hardships, Bailey focused on one important goal.
“I’ve always been a very determined person so getting through college was a must for me,” she said. “But I remember just really wrestling with that [question], ‘oh, how am I going to afford things?’ How am I going to go through college and work a job and just try and support myself?”
That’s why she’s grateful for Medicaid expansion, which kept her covered while she earned nursing degree at Montana State University. Since 2015, Montana’s Medicaid expansion program has provided coverage to adults ages 19-64, ensuring low-income working community members have health insurance and access to the care they need.
“I would never been able to afford what I needed, much less the doctor appointments. And then having the to pay for all my medical supplies. My insulin pump is $10,000. I can’t afford that out of pocket,” she said. “Just being to be able to get out of college, and be able to make money and make a future for myself is really awesome.”
Now, Bailey and her husband, Jacob Torgerson, are making a future for themselves in Bozeman. Bailey works in marketing and communications.
“My husband and I were looking into health insurance and just a couple months ago we were able to get our own aside from Medicaid,” she said. “But [Medicaid expansion] sustained me.”
This year, Montana lawmakers will decide whether to continue the Montana Medicaid program as it is today.
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