About 10 years ago, Melissa suddenly lost her vision, leaving her completely blind.

“I couldn't take care of my kids. How was I going to clean the house? How was I going to do laundry?” she said. “I just wanted to give up. I didn't see how I had any relevance in the world.”

Melissa’s disability makes her dual eligible, meaning she qualifies for both Medicare and Medicaid.

While these two forms of government health insurance provide an important safety net for those who need it, the system is not without complications.

In this CatchLight film produced by MediaStorm and made possible in part with support by Arnold Ventures, photojournalist Isadora Kosofsky follows Melissa, a single mother of six living in San Bernardino, California, as she navigates her daily life and her medical issues while being dual eligible and fully blind.

“It's been so challenging to move around a largely inaccessible world as a blind woman and to also navigate two different, disconnected health care systems as a dual-eligible person,” Kosofsky said about Melissa.

While Kosofsky explores dual eligibility through Melissa’s daily struggles, she is also there for moments of emotional candor as Melissa reveals deep gratitude for the healthcare system that supports her medical needs, her hope for her future and her surprising joy in the way she experiences the world as a blind woman.

In extended interviews from Documenting Dual Eligibility , Arnold Ventures’ Arielle Mir and Photojournalist Isadora Kosofsky discuss the approach they took in partnership with Catchlight to document the lives of two women who are dual eligible.

Ann lives in a home for women with developmental disabilities. Bound to a wheelchair and non-verbal, Ann’s disabilities make her dual eligible, meaning she qualifies for both Medicare and Medicaid.

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