When the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits expired in 2025, Lashelle was one of the people living with breast cancer who was left uninsured because she lost access to affordable insurance.
“It’s been extremely hard… I’ve had to skip appointments, tests and medications, and I fundraise for my most important medication,” she said. “Being self employed does not leave room for anything else besides rent and food. That’s why I’m a patient advocate and lobbyist.”
The ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits have helped more than 20 million people afford health insurance, saving the average person $700 annually. A bipartisan majority of the House voted to extend them on January 8 but the Senate has failed to act.
URGE THE SENATE TO EXTEND THE ACA TAX CREDITS
This inaction has Lashelle, a community-based health advocate who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021, in a tough predicament. She doesn’t qualify for Medicaid in Texas, a state that didn’t expand Medicaid, and without the ACA tax credits, her insurance options are now unaffordable.
“My insurance had ballooned to [the price of] my rent, and my deductible out of pocket was $10,000, so I’ve been stuck in this cycle, and I have to worry about getting sick and going to the ER and being turned away without insurance,” Lashelle said. “The scariest thing is I’m not out here enjoying things [in life]. I’m just trying to keep a roof over my head and eat.”
The financial toxicity of breast cancer, especially in a state facing deep health care cuts like Texas, has taken a toll.
“With the local health disparities… we have some of the best medical facilities here but to access them is hard because a lot of them don’t take your insurance,” she said. “Texas is made up of a lot of rural areas, and a lot of hospitals are closing because of these [Medicaid and health care] cuts. If we’re going to fund a war, why can’t we fund research and health care?”
Lashelle knows her story shows how breast cancer is political, and she won’t stop fighting to end breast cancer through public policy.
“Even if I can’t save me – this Lashelle – I want to save the next Lashelle,” she said. “We just have to keep going and not give up.”
Everyone has a right to lifesaving healthcare. Without affordable health insurance, many Americans are like Lashelle: They’re going without regular checkups, cancer screenings, treatments, and follow-up care.
