Texas Trump voter times cancer surgery to her deductible calendar

A year after surgeons removed her right breast, Cindy Banda traveled from McAllen, Texas, to a Houston cancer center, still uncertain whether the disease is gone. She came away from the visit with one firm request: schedule the reconstruction surgery in December.

Banda, a single mother supporting three children of her own and three more she took in after her sister's death, has voted for Donald Trump in each of his three campaigns, motivated by her opposition to abortion. She spent the past year on sick leave from her job selling internet service while the bills kept coming — a $1,300 car payment among them, and roughly $7,000 a month to cover the mortgage, utilities, groceries and two water leaks. Parking at the cancer center cost $8.

The reason for the December date is the deductible. Banda has met her costs for the year, so an operation in December falls inside money she has already paid down. Her doctor said the reconstruction could be scheduled early next year, and possibly sooner if the skin around her surgical scar loosens. In January, she would owe the first $7,500 again.

Even with insurance through her employer, the surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation generated costs of their own. Two weeks after the appointment, Banda returned to work selling Spectrum Wi-Fi door to door. She has not closed a sale or earned a commission since October of last year, after her biopsy and diagnosis.

The pressure extends well past McAllen. About half of registered voters describe healthcare costs as a major problem for themselves and their families, a Fox News poll found in September — up from a little more than a third four years earlier. An Associated Press-NORC poll the same month found voters nearly twice as likely to trust Democrats as Republicans to handle healthcare.

In January, the deductible starts over at $7,500.