For more stories about how the ACA is helping New Yorkers get covered, see our full booklet: The ACA is Working: New Yorkers Tell their Stories of Getting Covered 

Insured in: Employer-based insurance
Before the ACA, Gladys had devastating medical bills and nowhere to turn.
Now, her bills have been slashed by 90% and she can go back to working and taking care of her three children.

When Gladys, a single mother and NYC employee, collapsed from a stroke at her workplace, she was rushed unconscious to the hospital and immediately transferred to receive specialty treatment that saved her life. But when she returned home to recover, the bills started piling up. Gladys received medical bills for over $138,000 because she had been treated by doctors not covered by her insurance plan. Desperate, she turned to the Community Health Advocates (CHA) program in her community. Advocates helped Gladys access hospital financial assistance and negotiate her remaining bills to about $8,000. Gladys finally felt relief, “I was blessed with another chance at life and blessed with these people helping me.”

“CHA is fighting for justice.”

Special thanks to the Community Service Society for contributing this story!