Tina Guel is a community health outreach associate at Children’s Defense Fund-Texas who has been helping families in the Rio Grande Valley enroll in healthcare coverage since 2002. This is her story.
“My uncle was self-employed for most of his life. When the ACA passed, he asked me to help him get insurance – he’d never had it before. A few years later, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He didn’t have any family here, so my family and I took care of him. He had access to treatment, and insurance covered it.
“[After he passed away,] I went back to the hospital to ask if we owed anything because he was there for such a long time. They said it was only $600.
I was so surprised. His insurance even paid for hospice care. It was a lot of hell, and he didn’t have anyone else to help pay for his medical costs. That’s why I’m so supportive of ACA insurance. I really see the need here in my community, and I really see how it helps a lot of families.“