More than 1.2 million hardworking Floridians would be eligible to gain access to quality healthcare if Medicaid were expanded. In Orange County, 146,686 residents could benefit. Here is one of those stories. Vera Nelson, Cook – Rosewood Nursing Home, Orlando



Vera Nelson is a cook at Rosewood Nursing Home and mother of a 22 year-old son. She does not have health insurance.



“Just a few months ago, I had to drop my insurance because I could no longer afford the $2,000 deductible. It was too much for me. It’s outrageous. I have a blood pressure problem and sometimes my sugar acts up. It would mean a lot to me to be able to afford insurance for myself and my son.”



Vera knows first-hand the difference in quality of care patients receive with they have insurance versus no insurance.

She explains, “Before, when I had insurance, I could walk from my job across the street to my doctor’s office and get treatment.”



Without health insurance, routine check- ups with her primary care physician are no longer possible. If she gets sick, the only option is a visit to a hospital’s emergency room.



She says, “Just recently, I got sick at the job and I had to leave work and go to the emergency room. All they did was ask me what was wrong. They treated the symptoms. Not less than 24 hours later, I had to call the paramedics to come and get me. I could not walk. I could not get out of bed. I could not even get up to go to the bathroom. My symptoms were so bad that they finally had to treat me. That was degrading. What we need to do is stand together make sure this Medicaid expansion goes through so that no one has to suffer that indignity.”