Meet The People Whose Lives Have Been Transformed By Medicaid Expansion

Marc Sigoloff hopes he gets a chance to thank President Obama in person one day. "I really do believe that he saved my life with what he did," he says.

Fifty eight-year-old Sigoloff, a freelance writer who lives in Illinois, was surprised when he got a notice in the mail last year telling him he was eligible for public insurance coverage...after Illinois lawmakers accepted the health care law's optional Medicaid expansion, Sigoloff was one of the estimated 468,000 low-income residents who gained access to coverage this year.

One of the first things he did was go to the doctor. He knew he had issues with high blood pressure that he had been neglecting during the 11 years that he hadn't gone to regular check-ups. But he didn't expect to discover that he also had a brain tumor...

There's also similar anecdotal evidence from some of the other people who are gaining insurance coverage under the health law for the first time in years.

Charles McClinon, a 50-year-old Ohio resident who lives with epilepsy, told ThinkProgress, "The peace of mind is worth more than anything. I could be a millionaire, but if I don't have peace of mind, what good is it? And that's one thing this type of insurance is good for. I know I can get the kind of care I need."