“Thank you, President Obama!”says her smiling face. 

Marti is a self-employed, single mother of three. Her children are covered under their father’s health insurance plan, but she hasn’t been able to afford insurance for herself for years. “This plan is better than the one I had 10 years ago,” she beams! 

During her uninsured period, my friend got all the health care she could for free or very little through health screenings and local clinics. She even got free dental care from dental students.  Although she made it through with no catastrophes, she was just one such event away from utter financial ruin. 

Now her guardian angels (and friends) can relax, knowing that she will have the medical care she needs and deserves.

A few days after Marti’s celebration, another friend, Barbara, celebrated that she has health insurance for the first time in a few years.  “And it is free to me.” Barbara quit her job three years ago to care for her mother with Alzheimer’s. Barbara had been diagnosed with MS, and private insurance would not cover her condition, so she went without and hoped for the best.  Now she can take care of her mother and relax a bit about her own health. 

Although my insurance didn’t change as a result of Affordable Care Act, I can see the incredible impact it’s making in my community. My life changed because my friends are more secure and they are really happy about it.