Susan is a passionate advocate who is well-known in Florida for defending children against gun violence. Some people know her as “Susan Bullets” because since 2016 she has collected more than fifty thousand bullets, before they were used, and transformed them into accessories to raise awareness about gun violence. 

Last year, on a hot South Florida summer night, Susan was participating in a protest in Ft. Lauderdale, speaking out for the voices of yet another child lost to gun violence. Through the scorching heat, Susan almost fainted. Fortunately, EMS was on site. They were immediately called over to check her blood pressure and found it very low. After she regained alertness, EMS urged Susan to go to the emergency room. Knowing she was uninsured she pleaded, “I can’t go, I do not have insurance” Despite her determination, Susan ended up in the emergency room. 

“When I went to the emergency room I was not thinking about my life, I was just thinking that I couldn’t pay the bill; I had to pay for the ambulance, the hospital, etc., and I had no funds to pay for that”, shared Susan. 

Unfortunately, this is not uncommon thinking. Just like Susan, thousands of Floridians refuse to go to an emergency room, even when their lives are at risk, because they don’t have medical insurance, and they know they can’t afford to pay for the bills that come after an emergency visit. 

Currently, Susan owes over 20 thousand dollars in medical debt and since she is a full-time activist without any income, she has no way of negotiating any payments. “It’s ironic that I’m here defending the lives of children, so they don’t fall victims of gun violence, and I have to worry about my own life because I don’t have insurance”. 

Numerous calls and letters from different medical providers seeking to recover their payments became part of Susan’s daily life. “I truly don’t know what to do. I don’t have any income to even try to negotiate payments with the hospital”, added Susan. 

In the U.S., close to 100 million people have medical debt, and, most cases of bankruptcy, are the result of medical debt. One essential step to limiting medical debt in Florida is for the state to expand Medicaid. Florida is one of just 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid. To learn more, see here.