CAPITAL REGION More lacking good health plans Staying healthy a growing challenge BY SARA FOSS Gazette Reporter
When Tom Simpson went to the emergency room seeking treatment for a hernia, the first question was about health insurance. “They asked what health insurance I have,” Simpson recalled. “I said, ‘I have none.’ ” He was told that his situation wasn’t an emergency, given a painkiller and sent away. Simpson was homeless at the time and living on the streets of Troy. He’d once worked as a chef for Marriott but had lost his job, family and health insurance — a series of events he attributed to a drinking problem. He returned to the emergency room a couple more times and finally got a doctor to examine him. “I begged this guy,” Simpson said. “I said, ‘Please help me.’ ” The hernia was repaired last August, but the surgery resulted in about $3,500 in medical debt “that I can’t pay,” Simpson said. “I have the bills. I can’t pay them.” In April, Simpson landed at the City Mission of Schenectady, where, after years of neglect, he is trying to address lingering health problems. Right now, he’s dealing with a loss of vision in his left eye. “I’ve been to three ophthalmologists,” he said. “But because I don’t have any health insurance, they won’t help me. ... I’m really afraid. I don’t want to end up blind.” ALARMING STATISTICS People who lack health insurance or are underinsured are more likely to go without needed care and to..............>>>>..........>>>>........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....1&Continuation=1
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LibertyNJustice
August 9, 2009, 7:01am
Guest User
Quoted Text
He was told that his situation wasn’t an emergency, given a painkiller and sent away.
Expect more accounts like this when demand exceeds supply of health care providers leading to rationing of care.
As an aside, why is the state closing hospitals (e.g., St. Clare's), and thereby decreasing the supply, when the federal government is "hell bent: on passing socialized health care that will increase the need for such facilities significantly. Do those in government have any understanding of economics?
Yes folks have medical issues and our medicine in this country is very good.
But what keeps a person who has been homeless not knowing their feet were set on fire, and many other issues to want to take care of themselves.......
knowing that other people find you valuable......and healthcare IS NOT health insurance.....national healthcare is an oxymoron it doesn't make people feel valuable/respectable or anything like that.....we cannot purchase value of one's self..... like the man said"I'm not ready to check out yet."..........will national 'healthcare' keep him thriving? nah.....PEOPLE HAVE CHOICES WE ALL HAVE ISSUES....
some folks have 'failure to thrive' in certain systems.....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Editorial: State should fund Schenectady Free Health Clinic Wednesday, September 23, 2009
So the leaders of Schenectady’s Free Health Clinic were able to get a meeting last week with the bigwigs in Albany — top Health Department officials and the governor’s health adviser — but not the financial commitment they sought. Such clinics fill a vital role by serving the uninsured and those who would otherwise fall through the cracks. And because doctors and nurses donate their services, they do so at minimal cost. They should no longer be necessary when there is universal health care, but we are not there yet. Until then, they deserve to be funded. Federal stimulus money would be entirely justified. Unfortunately, it has been reserved for Medicaid; hospitals that serve a disproportionate share of low-income patients; COBRA subsidies that allow laid-off workers to continue their health insurance; and federally qualified health clinics. But the goal of all these is the same. It is to keep important programs going and allow them to serve more people at a time when the economy has cost many people their jobs and health insurance; or diminished the income of the working poor, making them unable to afford even a sliding-scale fee. So why exclude free clinics? It makes no sense..................................>>>>..............>>>>.............http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2009/sep/23/0923_edit1/
Many in area lack health coverage Census data cite children, seniors Wednesday, September 23, 2009 By Ameerah Cetawayo (Contact) Gazette Reporter
CAPITAL REGION — Schenectady County outnumbers other counties in the Capital Region in its population of those without health insurance among people under 18 or over 65 years old, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. More than 3,000 children in Schenectady County were uninsured, higher than Albany County’s 2,310, Rensselaer County’s 1,975 and Saratoga County’s 1,991, according to the 2008 American Community Survey, which included a health insurance question for the first time...............>>>>.............>>>>...............http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2009/sep/23/0923_insurance/
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