Teresa lives in Athens, Ohio. She works 30 hours per week and earn $9 per hour. She knows that she could move to a larger city like Columbus and earn around $15 for the same type of work, but loves working and serving her community.

Teresa’s job as a certified peer support counselor allows her to work with adults and families in her community who are in recovery or affected by substance use. She provides them with help and support through her own recovery experiences. A job like Teresa’s is critical to her community but it does not offer health insurance.

“I was able to enroll in Medicaid because Ohio lawmakers expanded Medicaid.”

In 2016, when became unable to walk, the doctor said Teresa needed to have a hip replacement. Because of her Medicaid health coverage, she was able to have the surgery and return to work.

“I literally would not be able to walk if I did not have Medicaid!”

Thank you to our partners at UHCAN Ohio.