Invest in Medicaid, invest in Alaskans

I was born in Anchorage, raised in Fairbanks, and today I live in Butte, where I serve my community as a peer support specialist and caregiver. For the past three years, I’ve been a paid caregiver, but caregiving isn’t just a job—it’s a calling. It takes a special kind of heart to serve others, and I know this firsthand.

My journey into caregiving began when I worked at a homeless women’s shelter in Anchorage. I saw people struggling, unable to access the help they desperately needed. I understood their struggle because I had been there myself.

Thirteen years ago, I became sick—so sick that some days I couldn’t function. From childhood, I had symptoms that doctors dismissed. For 39 years, I was told my illness was “all in my head.”

But it wasn’t. My condition, Superior Mesenteric Artery (SMA) Syndrome, went undiagnosed for decades. It worsened in November 2021, leaving me unable to eat, work, or care for my family. I lost everything—my health, my home, my stability. And yet, despite my suffering, the healthcare system was predisposed to ignore me. When I finally got my diagnosis, my stomach had been completely clamped off for two years. Medicaid saved my life. Without it, the surgery that allowed me to eat again would have cost me $52,000 out of pocket.

Medicaid also allows me to serve others. As a caregiver, I support a young woman with disabilities whose mother spent years trying to access basic services for her child. When she finally received approval, all she was given was ten hours of respite care per week. As a peer support specialist, I walk alongside people recovering from substance abuse, helping them reintegrate into society. I’ve seen people find housing, celebrate sobriety, and rebuild their lives.

One woman I worked with just marked 18 months sober.

The clients I support are often ignored by the system, left without a safety net. Alaska already has the highest per capita rate of individuals unable to access services. Cutting Medicaid would only deepen this crisis. Without caregivers and peer support, people will fall through the cracks—turning to crime, drugs, or homelessness. The consequences will ripple through our hospitals, courts, and jails, ultimately costing the state far more than the investment in Medicaid.

This isn’t just about policy; it’s about people. My own children rely on Medicaid for healthcare.

If funding is slashed, they—like countless others—will suffer. I wouldn’t be alive today without Medicaid, and I wouldn’t be able to give back to my community. Every day, I help others find a way out of hopelessness. That’s the power of investing in people.

Alaska cannot afford to turn its back on its most vulnerable. Stand with me. Stand with those who need care. Invest in Medicaid, because when we invest in people, we invest in a stronger Alaska.

Rebecca Leigh Reiss is a peer support specialist and caregiver who advocates for Medicaid funding and community support services. She works with individuals in recovery and those with disabilities, helping them reintegrate into society and access essential care. She lives in Butte.