- Adrianne
Interviewed March 2018
(oil on canvas, 30 ins. x 40 ins.)
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Adrianne’s story draws a very straight line between policy and its effects on real people. Adrianne was in her senior year at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, pursuing her lifelong dream of being a writer, when her health began deteriorating. She experienced extreme fatigue and vertigo. At the time, she carried student insurance. She saw a doctor but went undiagnosed.
After she graduated, Adrianne's health insurance ended, but her illness worsened. Soon, she started to lose her eyesight. Adrianne was eventually diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Adrianne had a debilitating illness, she was unable to work, and she had no insurance. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) had passed in 2010 but because Adrienne had no income, she did not qualify for a subsidy and could not be insured on her mother's plan. The cut-off for children receiving insurance through their parents under ACA was twenty-six. Adrianne was twenty-eight. The Medicaid Expansion part of the ACA was supposed to insure people in Adrianne’s predicament. But the governor of Pennsylvania at the time opted out of the expansion program. She was forced to put off tests and visits critical to her health.
Adrianne tried, unsuccessfully, four times to get health insurance through traditional Medicaid. Then, in 2015, Adrianne received a surprise letter, notifying her that she had coverage. That year, the new PA governor, Tom Wolf, expanded Medicaid. After years of fear and tumult, Adrianne was finally able to see specialists, get expensive tests and plot a treatment course.
If you live in Pennsylvania and you voted for Governor Tom Wolf in the 2014 gubernatorial election, you helped save Adrianne’s life. YOUR VOTE MATTERS.
READ MORE ABOUT THERESA BROWNGOLD'S PORTRAIT STORIES ON ART AS SOCIAL INQUIRY