she went on obamacare for $400 a month, then decided to take a chance. >> and i need your help. >> reporter: she ran for office and lost. then, some really bad news. cancer, stage iv, non-hodgkin's lymphoma. >> my prognosis was poor. i wasn't supposed to survive. >> reporter: by that time, she couldn't afford insurance, qualifying for medicaid. wisconsin expanded its coverage under obamacare, but rejected federal funds to pay for it. was it difficult to rely on the government for health care? >> well, not necessarily. i -- it was life or death for me. >> reporter: the american cancer society estimates today there are some 1.5 million americans with cancer on medicaid. >> anyone who's in the medicaid expansion, who are the really the lowest income americans, and many of them are cancer patients, as well, including childhood cancer patients, are going to be losers. >> reporter: the center on budget and policy priorities