Certified Recovery Peer Support Specialist, 43, Uninsured (mother)

Interviewed September 2015

(oil on canvas, 40 ins. x 30 ins.)

FULL-TIME AUTO REPAIR STUDENT, 21, Uninsured (Daughter)

Interviewed September 2015

(oil on canvas, 40 ins. x 30 ins.)

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Mariamee and Genesis, a mother and daughter who reside in Floria, are examples of those who fall into what is called the "Medicaid Gap." Their stories demonstrate how insurance issues can impact whole families.

Mariamee, works part time as a peer specialist for those with mental illness and earns poverty level wages. Florida was not among the states to participate in the Medicaid Expansion program under a provision in President Obama's new health care law enacted in 2010. At the time of painting, Mariamee was earning too much to qualify for Florida’s old Medicaid program and too little to get subsidized insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s online marketplace. As a result she remained uninsured.

Mariamee is a diabetic. Because she is uninsured, she relies on getting medication samples from her doctor and goes to the emergency room for supplies if she is desperate. Her oldest daughter, Genesis, has chronic lung problems which require multiple medications and several breathing machines to manage. Genesis aged out of traditional Medicaid when she turned 18 and, at the time of painting, was also uninsured, having lost her job because of repeated absences due to untreated respiratory illnesses. Unable to find affordable insurance, and therefore, unable to keep up her $6000/month medication regiment, in 2015, Genesis was rationing her last remaining inhaler. Between Mariamee and Genesis, the family has accumulated thousands of dollars in medical debt.

“As a family we have been through hell and back,” says Mariamee.