Gail Devore, a self-described problem solver, knows the consequences of not having access to comprehensive health care. As a person with Type 1 diabetes, she depends on many medical devices and medications like insulin, insulin pumps, a continuous glucose monitor and disposable pumping supplies just to survive. Without these devices, as she simply puts it, “I will die.” However, these medical supplies are expensive, and without health insurance Gail would not be able to afford her treatment.

“Without health insurance, I could not afford to be alive.”

Many other Americans with diabetes face the same cost- prohibitive barrier that Gail describes, depending on Medicaid services to access life-saving care. Although insulin was identified as a treatment for diabetes almost a century ago, soaring costs for the drug in the United States in recent years are creating a serious hardship for many consumers who depend on it, forcing some to cut back on their prescribed dosage just to get through the month. Gail credits health insurance with her ability to access insulin and, ultimately, to live a healthy life with Type 1 diabetes.