For 15 years, Elisabeth was a church pianist without health insurance. She had always embraced a healthy lifestyle, so when she qualified for Medicaid in 2014, she had no idea it would end up saving her life. In early 2015, Elisabeth began experiencing troubling symptoms— confusion, depression, and eventually seizures. When a small bump to the head led to a major seizure, tests revealed a large brain tumor pressing on the upper right hemisphere of her brain. The diagnosis:

Georgia* lives in East Tennessee with her husband and their three kids. The family keeps busy. “It’s chaos,” Georgia laughs. “My husband and I are nonstop—we both work full-time. I’m actually on the way to my son’s basketball game right now.” Georgia and her husband work hard to give their kids a joyful childhood. She reflects on the journey that brought her here: “My life growing up was very different from what my kids have now. The experiences my kids are getting? I’m exper

Across the country, Americans feel the healthcare affordability crisis. Emergencies are expensive for uninsured people, and even those who are insured face high costs for various treatments and prescriptions. In Tennessee, approximately 10% of the population is uninsured (700,000 people), 1.4 million people are on Medicaid , 600,000 are insured through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace , and the rest are privately insured. Nearly three million Tennesseans—those uni

If it were not for TennCare Medicaid, Toni Corbin— recognized as a TJC Mother of the Year in 2018 —would not be able to care for her multigenerational household. While she jokes that her home is a little dysfunctional, it is also full of love — and chickens that keep her on her toes. Toni’s home is bustling with life. Her son, granddaughter, great-grandchildren, and even her aging mother all live under one roof. With her own health challenges, including severe arthritis and c

For Andrea, a hardworking single mom of twin boys born prematurely, Medicaid has been a force for good. Andrea’s sons were born at just 31 weeks, over two months premature, weighing in at just four pounds. The twins spent 37 nerve-wracking days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for extra support as they continued to develop outside of the womb. They were enrolled in TennCare when they were about 5 months old and have had TennCare ever since. James and Matthew were di

William “Willy” Bruce of Parsons, Tennessee, loved football, physics, and math. He was working toward a degree in Graphic Design at the University of Tennessee, and he was a father of two sons. Willy passed away from a fatal asthma attack in 2024. He was 25 years old. At the time of his death, Willy was uninsured. He had lost coverage after he turned 21 and aged out of child benefits. He no longer fell into one of the very limited categories of coverage Tennessee provid

Over 600,000 Tennesseans’ health insurance cost will double in January, and a third of them will become uninsured . Some ...