At night, Anita’s oxygen level plummets. It’s hard for her to breathe. Save for a few months last year, Anita has endured a lack of health insurance for six years. Her jobs have not provided coverage, and she has not earned enough money to buy any coverage for herself. Currently working part-time in fast food, and serving as a mall janitor before that, Anita’s income hasn’t grown, but her living expenses have. “Those bills don’t know full-time from part-time; they’re gonna roll out anyway,” she said.
At the moment, Anita earns $600 per month but then pays half that in child support. At $300 per month, there’s no health coverage available to her in Tennessee. “In every aspect of my life,” she lamented, “I’m stuck.”