Jackson Free Press

A working mother of five children, Monique Davis has been both a have and a have-not. When her husband worked for Verizon in Washington, D.C., the entire family received health coverage through his union, the Communications Workers of America.

"It was wonderful," Davis says. "We just had a $15 co-pay. We could pick whatever doctor we wanted."

In 2007, the family moved to Jackson and opened Lumpkin's BBQ on Terry Road soon thereafter. Davis and her husband cannot afford insurance for their few employees, let alone themselves. The change has been drastic, Davis says.

Davis gave birth to all five of her children while insured, and her insurance covered everything except for a private room after-delivery.

"I'd be having the baby in the backyard if I got pregnant now," Davis says with a laugh.

Living uninsured has forced Davis to be more conscientious with her own health, by eating carefully and exercising regularly. The State Children's Health Insurance Program covers her kids' immunizations, but Davis has not been able to afford dental care and regular physician's check-ups.

"If something catastrophic happened, we'd be in trouble," Davis says. "I will not let the children participate in certain after-school activities—football and basketball—because I'm scared of broken bones."

When her husband visited a doctor after suffering dizzy spells and fatigue for a week, the physician initially prescribed a battery of tests costing $2,500. Some, like a prostate test, were completely unrelated to his ailment. Davis eventually whittled the list down to three relevant tests, but she still paid $275.

"People are so afraid that it's going to affect what they have already, without realizing that half of the population doesn't have any of that," Davis says.