Genevieve’s Story

I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2013 and lupus in 2019. When I was a new graduate in 2016, I had a lapse in insurance for about two months. I was working for a small music therapy practice that didn’t provide benefits. I saved up a couple hundred dollars to get my Asacol prescription thinking that would be enough, but when I got to the pharmacy, the cost was over $1,000 for the monthly refill. Not having enough money for both Asacol and rent, I decided to go without my medication –– which resulted in the worst flare-up of my life. After I was diagnosed with lupus, I moved back to my childhood home because I was out of money and exhausted by the state of health care.