Many Floridians have jobs but can't afford health insurance or to pay out-of-pocket for health care. For those patients, the more than 100 free and charitable clinics in Florida are often their only option for health care.
Health Insurance and Costs
The U.S. spends more than any other country for health care. And economic ideals that should push costs down aren't actually working in our country's system.
The nursing home industry is a powerful force that pushes back against the great work reporters have done in exposing elder abuse. Plus, we as a country are not very interested in old people except as a part of a commercial transaction.
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), community clinics have played an important role providing care for newly insured Americans. Funding for programs that enable community clinics to meet patient's needs will expire on September 30th, if Congress doesn’t act.
Minnesota officials knew they would exhaust Children’s Health Insurance Program money by the end of this year and likely be out of money for coverage of low-income children and pregnant women by the end of September. And Congress will probably not meet a deadline to help.
Focusing on how to finance expanded coverage is often compared to moving the deck chairs around on the Titanic: the whole health care enterprise is sinking under the weight of its high costs, and no amount of shifting who pays how much will keep us all from going under.
Once again, Congress is considering a bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and make major cuts to Medicaid. Next week, the Senate may vote on this latest repeal effort, led by Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
As Americans warm to the idea of a greater role for the government in health care, there's a difference between saying that everyone is entitled to health insurance and a plan to make that possible.
Even if the county ever gets a medical school, it is a long-term goal years away and many low-income patients need solutions now.
For years Merced County has struggled to convince doctors to come live and work in the rural, impoverished Central Valley community, resulting in a ratio of about 45 doctors for every 100,000 residents.