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Making It Possible For Me to Chase My Dream: My #GetCovered Story

Summary: 
Stefania Fochi shares how health insurance has given her peace of mind and financial security, allowing her to focus on growing her empanada business.

The following blog post was originally posted on the HHS website.

Hi. I’m Stefania Fochi. I’m 25 years old, I live in Sarasota, Fla., and for the past four years I didn’t have health insurance.

It made me very nervous, because I work with heavy machinery when I make empanadas and pasta in my family’s business. There have been times when I’ve been using the big 2,000-pound kneader and almost caught my hand and thought: If I had to go to the emergency room, what would I do?

Also there’s a history of ovarian cancer in my mother’s family: My great-grandma died of it, my grandma had it and my Mom had it, so I need to keep up on the checkups. But I wasn’t able to because I didn’t have health insurance.  I rarely was able to go to a doctor in the four years since I quit my job with a corporation to start an empanada business.

Now I have health insurance that gives me peace of mind and financial security. I logged onto the Health Insurance Marketplace at HealthCare.gov and found an affordable policy with excellent coverage. Because I was eligible for lower costs, my policy costs only $98 a month, with a deductible of $750.

I think it’s very important for 20-year-olds to have insurance even though many of them think they are too young and that nothing can happen. You never know. You could get into a car accident. Not having health insurance puts you instantly in a hole.

Having health insurance is going to help me achieve my goals of creating an empanada empire because I will have the peace of mind knowing that I don’t have to spend any time worrying about what if something happens to me. I will be able to focus on what’s important, which is going to be my business.

We opened our first pasta and empanada store on Monday. Having a business is hard. We work a lot but it is definitely a labor of love. And having health insurance is absolutely making it possible for me to chase my dream.