A Department of Interior employee says she can’t afford the co-pay for insulin to treat her Type 1 diabetes because of the partial government shutdown.
Mallory Lorge told NBC News that she has been forced to ration her insulin after she missed a paycheck because of the shutdown.
{mosads}Lorge said she was forced to ignore her blood sugar, which rose to a record high last week, because she can’t afford to go to a hospital.
“When it gets that high you can go into diabetic ketoacidosis, you can go into a coma,” she said. “I can’t afford to go to the [emergency room]. I can’t afford anything. I just went to bed and hoped I’d wake up.”
The shutdown is currently in its fourth week, with Democrats still at odds with Republicans and President Trump over Trump’s demand for at least $5 billion in funding for a wall along the southern border.
Lorge told NBC News that she and her husband will likely be able to make ends meet for the next three or four weeks, but added that she isn’t sure what could happen if the shutdown continues longer than that.
Lorge added that she feels like she is “being held hostage” by the shutdown.
“It’s like being held hostage,” Lorge said. “I’ve been a federal employee for six years, and I love it. I don’t get paid much, but I love working for the American people. That the government has put us in this position is like a punch in the gut.”