‘Teen Mom 2′: Leah Messer Addresses Fans’ Criticism Over Health Insurance Issue

On the latest episode of Teen Mom 2, Leah Messer explained that she did not have health insurance. The topic came up as she was discussing her recent health scare, which involved her going to the hospital to get a lump in her breast checked out. While Messer did get health insurance by the end of the episode, several viewers took to social media to criticize the reality star for not having taken action on that front sooner. In turn, the Teen Mom 2 star addressed the matter by posting a statement to her Instagram Story, as The Sun noted.

In her message, Messer explained that she’s been seeing “everybody’s comments” on the issue, so she wanted to address it directly. She began by writing, “Growing up, health insurance was not a topic discussed in my household. Coming from a low-income family, I was on state insurance until I got married and then was picked up on my then husband’s insurance. I never had to learn about it or even think about it for that matter.” She continued to write that she was faced with increasing medical bills following her second divorce, after which she was no longer on health insurance.

Messer added that she thought that you could only receive medical insurance by being under your parents’ plan, under your spouse’s, or via certain jobs. Once she did educate herself on the matter, she was able to secure health insurance. The reality star explained, “I hope people out there learn 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.”

As previously mentioned, this topic originally came about when Messer was recounting her recent health scare. She previously explained that she noticed a lump in her right breast when she was driving with her three children — Aleeah, Aliannah, and Adalynn — in tow. The mom-of-three promptly sought out a physician to get the issue checked out, but she didn’t receive the diagnosis that she was expecting. Her doctor told her that the lump is a benign tumor. They said that she would have to go back every four months to monitor the situation. Even though Messer expressed hesitancy over possibly having the tumor surgically removed in the future (due to her past struggles with drug addiction), she said that she would do whatever she needs to in order to be healthy for her family. Disclosure: PopCulture is owned by ViacomCBS Streaming, a division of ViacomCBS.