Personal Stories Archives

Remembering Dick Dillihunt

June 20, 2023

Doctor standing in white coat with stethoscope around neck holds the hand of seated patient and lays hand on patient's shoulder with light shining behind

Dr. Richard C. “Dick” Dillihunt, a long-time and ardent supporter of universal health care and of Maine AllCare, passed away in May at age 88. Dr. Dillihunt was born in Hartford, Connecticut, received his medical . . . read more »

March 2023 Newsletter

March 29, 2023

View of golden brown fields crisscrossed with strips of forest and a small town in the distance under a bright blue sky with wispy clouds.

Rural health care: Essential and at risk Maine is the most rural state in the nation. Almost two-thirds of Maine residents live in rural areas, and 11 of 16 counties are considered rural, according to . . . read more »

The Power of Experience: Volunteer Susan Sassaman

March 23, 2023

Portrait of Maine AllCare volunteer Susan Sassman wearing a bright blue jacket with green and trees and a building in the background

If you’ve requested a Maine AllCare bumper sticker in the past year, or Clynk stickers for donating returnables to support MAC, you can thank Susan Sassaman for the neat little packages that have shown up . . . read more »

A Community that Cares: personal stories in support of universal healthcare

May 18, 2021

The Greater Brunswick Area Chapter of Maine AllCare has put together a short video featuring several area citizens who share their compelling personal stories, explaining why they favor publicly funded, comprehensive, birth-to-death universal health care . . . read more »

Unemployed and without affordable healthcare

August 6, 2020

“My husband lost his job last week, we can’t afford the deductible & premiums for COBRA, so will be paying out-of-pocket for our life-saving medical prescriptions while also trying to make mortgage payments, keep our . . . read more »

The ACA from a Navigator’s perspective

January 28, 2020

“I became a volunteer ACA Navigator in 2014 and have worked with hundreds of people in the Blue Hill Peninsula over the past six years. It has been a privilege to do this and a . . . read more »

Maine playwright facing traumatic brain injury, and out-of-control medical bills

December 23, 2019

In April 2018, Callie Kimball suffered a devastating head injury in a freak accident. Fortunately, she is recovering. Unfortunately, she has had to create a GoFundMe page due in large part to medical bills. She . . . read more »

“My husband lost his job, and we lost our health insurance”

May 21, 2019

I never thought about health insurance until 2008. I got married in 1980 and both my husband and I worked. We always chose to have me go on his insurance. The cost came out of . . . read more »

My child’s depression swallowed her whole. I took the steps to get her help. Then the bills came.

October 16, 2017

Even when someone with good insurance is a skilled navigator of our complex and dysfunctional healthcare system, she can be overwhelmed by the stresses and costs that accrue when finding and receiving care for serious . . . read more »

Maine has 1,329,608 reasons for universal healthcare

September 6, 2017

Reason #1 “When I talk about healthcare I often tell people that I am retired from the U.S. Navy with 28 years of service. I don’t do that so that people will thank me for . . . read more »