MTV "Teen Mom 2 "star Leah Messer was afraid to have surgery for a benign tumor.
“Teen Mom 2 “star Leah Messer talked about being afraid to have surgery for a benign tumor on the May 11 episode of the reality TV show. The star’s health journey sparked a debate among Redditors who watch the series. They discussed the topic of healthcare in the U.S. and how others found themselves in a situation that resembled Leah’s.
Before Leah could have the lump taken care of by professionals, she had to get health insurance. Up until Leah found the tumor in her breast, health insurance hadn’t been a top concern for her. When Leah was growing up she was under her parents’ insurance until she got married and her children have been covered through their fathers. Once she was divorced, Leah was uninsured and her medical bills started to pile up so she figured going to fewer doctor appointments would help the situation.
A Reddit thread about Leah’s experience garnered nearly 1,000 upvotes and almost 400 comments from viewers.
“I really like that she’s sharing this,” the original poster wrote. “A lot of young girls never learn about how to gain coverage. This is valuable information.”
Many netizens agreed. “Insurance is confusing for anyone,” one of the top responses said.
Viewers from other countries were shocked to hear about Leah’s struggle to be covered. “As a Canadian teen mom it never even occurred to me that they had to worry about health insurance on top of everything else,” they said. “And Leah’s twins had to stay in the NICU. Awful.” 
Leah Wants to Educate People About the Healthcare System
After receiving a wave of feedback from viewers, Leah issued a statement about her situation. She wanted people to know they had options even if they didn’t have jobs, spouses, or parents that could help them obtain health insurance.
“Due to my lack of knowledge and education regarding health insurance, I believed the only way to be covered was under your parents, your spouse or by certain jobs,” she said in an Instagram statement. “None of the above applied to me, so I figured I would just see the doctor less to reduce my medical expenses.”
That wasn’t a feasible situation for Leah after she discovered her benign tumor. “Luckily, I became educated by those around me and was able to secure my own insurance,” the “Teen Mom 2” star continued. “I hope people out there learn through what I went through and understand that there are options and resources out there if you find yourself in need of coverage but don’t know where to start.”
Leah Is Afraid to Be Prescribed Pain Medication
One of the reasons Leah is afraid to undergo surgery for the tumor is because the last time she had a major surgery — her cesarian section with 8-year-old daughter Addie — Leah wound up becoming addicted to the medication.
“As far as surgery, that scares the living s*** out of me. The last biggest surgery I had, they prescribed me prescription pain medication that I became addicted to,” Leah told her sister, Victoria, during the May 11 episode of “Teen Mom 2.” “So any kind of open procedure literally scares the f*** out of me.”
“I’m anxious about any kind of procedures,” Leah added.
Don’t miss “Teen Mom 2” when it airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern time on MTV.
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