The storybank project is part of our continuing effort to highlight the need for quality, comprehensive, affordable health care coverage for all. The stories featured are of real people throughout the state of Utah whose lives are impacted by the health care crisis.

Uninsured Stories
Living without insurance, being under-insured and the consequences to one's health and/or household.

• Self Employed Couple Has Few Choices for Health Insurance
• ACA will benefit uninsurable Utah businesswoman
• Students excited to have coverage under parent's plan
• New parents also newly uninsured
• Health insurance unaffordable due to asthma, a pre-exisiting condition
• Small businesses drop health coverage, as costs rise, leaving Utah families uninsured.
• Swine flu turns to disaster for uninsured Utahn
• Family contemplating dropping health insurance even with a baby on the way.
• Surviving is my first priority I just can't think about how to pay for my care right now.
• Right now tuition and my education are more important that health insurance.
• Preexisiting health conditions can make it scary to change jobs.
• Insurance would take so much out of my paycheck...
• I wish there were a way for families who make too much for CHIP and Medicaid...
• Student chooses cost of education over health insurance.
• Lack of insurance leads to missed preventative care...
• Can't obtain preventative care without a medical home...
• Temporary agencies don't offer health insurance...

Medicaid & CHIP Stories
Issues: timely access to care, the need for services and
Successes: how these programs helped one get back into or to stay within the workforce.

• Utahns Speak Up: About Medicaid Expansion
• The Health Care Compact Will Saddle Utah with the Responsibility for Medicare without the Needed Dollars
• The Health Care Compact Will Hurt Utahn's with Disabilities
• The Health Care Compact Will Hurt Utah's Seniors
• Dental Coverage Would Have Prevented an Expensive Emergency Department Visit
• Untreated Dental Problems Make Other Health Conditions Worse
• CHIP helps make family insurance affordable
• As a single mother and sole provider, insurance was simply unaffordable
• Facing cancer as a single mother is enough stress
• CHIP is a great program for families inching their way out of poverty
• CHIP provides family with peace of mind
• Without Medicaid, I probably wouldn't have my healthy little girl
• Medicaid provides a critical service for Utah family
• The importance of CHIP Building Blocks
• Providers speak out on critical Medicaid services
• Saved with the support of the Medicaid Breast and Cervical Cancer Program
• Medicaid provides critical coverage for Utah families
• Medicaid helps Utah mother turn her life around
• Medicaid helps Utahn become financially independent
• Primary Care Network is a Band-Aid solution
• Utah's Primary Care Network creates pool of underinsured
• Critical Medicaid services still need to be restored
• Provider sees benefits of access to comprehensive rehabilitation care
• Providing Medicaid adults with physical therapy is critical and cost-effective
• Optional services are not optional
• Baby Your Baby Program provides vital, cost-effective prenatal care
• Asset test keeps single mom from gaining economic independence
• Physical therapy opens new doors on life
• Medicaid is an important saftey net for hard times
• Medicaid Waiver Programs allow Utahns to live independently
• Caregiver sees negative impact from Medicaid cuts
• Medicaid asset test keeps Utah families in poverty
• Funding for critical Medicaid services needs to be restored
• Medicaid takes a bad page from private insurance: denying claims
• Because I wanted to better myself and not depend on the system...
• It was alot of work to get on PCN and it didn't help much.
• When my children were uninsured, I was always worried they would get sick.
• Grandson's social security check disqualifies Grandmother.

Small Business Stories
Small business owner's ability to offer insurance.

• Small business owner has a hard time providing insurance through Utah's Health Exchange (New! 1/12/12)
• Providing a choice to my employees is a great benefit
• My clients are looking for lower premiums from Utah's Health Exchange
• Employer understands the importance of offering insurance to employees
• The ACA provides relief to small business
• Sole-proprietor can't afford quality health insurance
• Contractor offers employees health insurance but struggles to compete
• Rising insurance costs limit small business's ability to recruit & retain good employees
• Utah small business and their employees fall through the cracks
• Offering health insurance puts small business at competitive disadvantage
• Changing the definition of small group market would help new businesses
• We need affordable insurance to grow our business
• It's important to offer good insurance to keep quality employees
• I would like to offer better coverage but it's extremely difficult and very costly
• Health costs seem to go up 20% each year...
• I got into this business because I couldn't afford health insurance for myself!

General Insurance and Quality of Care Stories
Rising premiums, in-between coverage, denial;
Culturally or linguistically appropriate care (personal, family, client, or institutional).

• Couple avoids bankruptcy thanks to federal health reform (new! 12/6/11)
• Discrimination makes accessing health care difficult for Utah families
• Federal reform is helping young adults in Utah pursue their dreams
• Cost-effective health care coverage for legal immigrant kids
• Health insurance benefit caps endanger retired couple's financial security
• Gap in coverage leads to pre-existing conditions
• Medical bills unaffordable even with insurance
• Supplemental plans too expensive for our seniors
• Having insurance does not guarantee coverage when you need it most
• Cost of COBRA Unaffordable
• Insurance issue more distressing than fear of cancer itself.

Tell Your Story...
We are collecting stories related to any of the following:

• Medicaid Story (difficulty accessing care, denial of claims, "success story" explaining how Medicaid helped you in the past) 
• Small Business Health Coverage Story (difficulty affording coverage for your workers, rate increases, 
• Quality of Care Story (experience related to quality of care provided at hospitals or through health plan; stories on language access, culturally competent or incompetent care)
• Uninsured or Under-insured Story (difficulties or success accessing care while uninsured, limitations of coverage or access while insured, etc.)
• General Stories (related to any experience, negative or positive, with Utah health care systems)

If you have a story that you'd like to include in our Storybank Project, please let us know by filling out the online form here, and we will contact you soon.