A Cancer Survivor Hoped To Work — Then She Lost Her Medicaid Disability Coverage
As state governments grapple with how to determine who’s sick enough to be excused from new Medicaid work requirements, some families are already struggling with what illnesses guarantee health coverage because of a disability.
Taya Hailstone has been cancer-free for five years, having battled Hodgkin lymphoma as a child. However, the lingering effects of her illness make simple tasks challenging. In Montana, the health department recently decided she is no longer eligible for low-cost disability health coverage through Medicaid. The decision came three months before she turned 20, when she would have aged out of the program.
The state did not consult with Hailstone's medical team before making the ruling, according to letters from those doctors reviewed by KFF Health News. Taya stopped receiving Social Security disability payments because she hoped to work and save money, but her health remains unstable. She relies on Medicaid to manage the aftermath of her cancer and keep her treatments affordable.
Without Medicaid, she said she can't afford the necessary care. Hailstone is appealing the decision, but without Medicaid, she fears she cannot afford the treatment she needs.
Written by urgent.news from KFF Health News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
