This is a story about how the Federal Government saved two American lives.

In my third month of pregnancy I almost miscarried my unborn son. I went to the emergency room and they told me to take bed rest for two weeks or I would lose the baby. I then went to Charity Hospital in New Orleans, LA for help with the prenatal care because I did not have any health insurance. Finally, my mother-in -law told me to go to the Health and Human Services Department, where I was fortunate enough to qualify for Medicaid.

When, in the last stage of my pregnancy I got toxemia and almost died, Medicaid helped me pay for the care I needed. This program helped me get through having my first child without losing either of our lives. We are both alive and doing well today due to help from Medicaid.

Data sources

• U.S. Census Bureau, “American FactFinder,” 2007 American Community Survey (accessed May 2011). Data came from the following tables: Statewide poverty percentages, GCT1701, Ratio of income to poverty level, C17002
• U.S. Census Bureau, “American FactFinder,” 2009 American Community Survey (accessed May 2011). Data came from the following tables: Statewide poverty percentages, GCT1701, Ratio of income to poverty level, C17002
• Half in Ten analysis of Table 1, 2007 State Expenditure Report, National Association of State Budget Officers.
• Half in Ten analysis of Table 1, 2009 State Expenditure Report, National Association of State Budget Officers.
• U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2007 through 2008.
• U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2009 through 2010.