2007
BETTER OFF BLEEDING TO DEATH
I am 62 years old and worked and maintained an honest life here in the Northwestern United States. I always believed when I was younger that social responsibility would become more prevalent in our country as I grew older. I guess I was a product of the 50's television shows where the good guys always prevailed and people went out of their way to help those needing a hand. (Note I did not say handout.) Sometimes life deals us a card we don't expect though and humane nature being what it is, I was neither prepared or didn't believe it can happen to me.
About five years ago I was a middle management employee in the
semi-conductor business with good pay and great insurance. But then the market slowed and manufacturing begin their offshore exodus. Well I was eventually laid off and soon found out that not too many employers were interested in hiring older people. I then used the trade act opportunity to go to school but could not complete it as the funding ran out before I could get enough credits.

My medical history prior to being laid off included a back injury from
being crushed under a fork lift in 1979, a heart attack about 1999 and later diabetes diagnosed in 2000. As I said I had no insurance, but my wife was now working as a school custodian and had coverage. Even with her coverage we are currently well behind on utility bills and struggling to keep our house. I can't even afford the co-pays. I just received a call yesterday wanting to know when I can pay for some emergency room work I had done when I accidentally cut an artery not long ago. A surgeon emergently closed
it up and stopped the bleeding but now I wish I had just laid down and bleed to death.

My mother died of colon cancer and I had an exam and a polyp was removed about six years ago. My Doctor's office has been calling saying it's time for another colonoscopy but I refused because I can not afford the procedure.

Currently I suffer from tremors, atrial flutter, diabetes, and chronic back pain. My doctor ordered Coumadin which required blood tests every 2-4 weeks but it was just another bill that I could not afford. They keep calling me to get the blood work but I have decided to quit going because of the costs. My doctor also ordered an MRI and stress test which I have also not done because of the costs.

I have not been able to find steady work but have worked part time or
temporary jobs when available. The last job and current is as a substitute
custodian at the school district where my wife works. I was able to get
three weeks work last month and this month it only looks like one day.
I am in such pain doing this work that I was really worried I would not make it through. My ankles are swollen each night twice their normal size and my back pain keeps me from getting the rest I need to go back to work the next day. I prayed to God for the strength to continue. I guess I thought that things would be better when I got older but instead it has gotten worse.

I would like to say I planned for this when I was working and making a good salary but as I said before, I never thought it would happen to me. I guess we even avoid thinking about death believing somehow that will make it not happen. People by nature often don't think much about tomorrow when trying to just make it through today. I never complained about paying my taxes when I paid some pretty large sums as long as the money went for improving the quality of life for the American people. I never thought that our tax money and American generosity would go to Iraq and rebuild their country or allow oil companies to bid for control of newly freed oil reserves, while I quietly die from lack of preventive health care. Insurance companies are like a casino where the odds are always
calculated. When we are younger and healthier, we work and are provided health insurance through our employers. But we get older and not so able to work or unemployed, our insurance goes away at a time when our physical age often needs increased care, not less care. What an Oxymoron and what a deception to working Americans. It makes me think our government would be more humane to just start handing out poison pills to the uninsured and underinsured, but then that would be admitting responsibility.

A WIFE OF A DIABETIC WHO MIGHT LOSE ANOTHER FAMILY MEMBER

My husband is a diabetic and has recently been laid off. His unemployment insurance ran out and so did his health insurance. His health is not good at all right now and I am so scared. I waitress in a small restaurant 4 days a week and we are having a hard time keeping up with all the bills. His medication is so expensive and he needs more blood tests but his doctor won't renew his prescription without the tests first. The lab tests cost more than his medications with one prescription costing almost $200.00 and another two costing over $100.00 every month.
   I am so worried and stressed out. My mom passed away recently and I haven't even figured out how to deal with that. How am I suppose to prepare myself to lose my other best friend, my husband? We have worked hard all of our lives and have paid more taxes on what ever the heck they tax us on, and now when we need help, there is none. We can't get medical insurance because we own part of our home. And even if we sold our house, the rent we would be paying would be way more that our current mortgage payment. Is there any help for us?

2006
A CRY FOR HELP
Hi my name is Pamela. I am 41 years old. I have had diabetes for 29 years. I also have high blood pressure, and under active thyroid. I broke my back 12 years ago. I also broke my shoulder this past November and had to have shoulder replacement surgery. I have been on the insulin pump for the past 11 years and the first of January and my A1C was 6.6 which is considered good control for diabetes. That was the first of January and then this last part of January on my birthday, I lost my health insurance. I still had some supplies at that time but the first part of February my supplies ran low. Well my daughter had a dentist appointment and on the way home I was all driving all over the road. The policeman pulls me over to ask if I had been drinking but I had not. I told him I had diabetes and thought that my sugar was low. He let me go and we managed to get home unharmed. When we got home I had something to drink and ate some crackers and soon I was feeling like myself again. This was the first time that had happened to me, getting stopped by the police because my sugar was low. I was lucky not to kill anybody driving the other way. When I had insurance and could afford my test strips, I checked my sugar frequently. I just filled up my insulin pump with my last bottle of insulin last night. I'm in a dilemma and don't know what to do. I have tried to get on disability before but they said that I didn't qualify because I could walk and talk. Then I applied again. This time they said that I hadn't worked enough. I don't want to end up like the people I read about in the newspapers. If you know of anything that I may can do will you please let me know. Thank you so much for your time. Pamela
STOP WORKING TO GET HELP FOR YOUR FAMILY?

She was a single mother of 3 children. Her ex-husband of 15 yrs had been so abusive that when she was finally able to escape him, going after him for child support would have been suicide. The state Medicaid program and AFDC program insisted that she give them his name and identifying information before they would help her and her children. Fearing for her life, she refused. They refused her assistance. She went on to work 2 full jobs just to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table and was still faced with the decision, food & electricity or food and gas for her car so that she can get to work that week. Sometimes she was able to get her landlord to accept sewing for part of the rent, so she could get her children shoes, or a birthday present but there were times she wasn't so lucky.
Health insurance for even just her children was out of the question. The baby was seen at the WIC office monthly and got his shots there but that was the extent of his health checkup. Since her oldest 2 children were able to care for themselves and the baby, she was able to allow them to substitute as childcare. But when her oldest daughter started acting out it became a risky adventure. Sometimes she would come home to find her other 2 children hiding in the garage because this daughter was on a rampage and they were afraid.
For weeks at a time the daughter would seem just fine, then as if a light switch went on she would be mean and argumentative and physically violent toward the other children, her siblings and mother. The school had expelled her and told the mother she could not come back until seen by a mental health specialist. She took her daughter to their clinic and was told it would be $500 up front for the tests and intake for her child no payment arraignments allowed. Devastated and scarred for her daughter and terrified for her other children and herself, because by then this daughter was a real threat. She went back to the Medicaid office only to be told they could not help her unless she "lost" her job. But the small sum of cash they could give her wouldn't even pay her electric bill much less her rent. To top it off they threatened to take away all of her children if her daughter missed any more school! They said to take her to MHMR, to be evaluated and they would see about helping her with medication, but after meeting with the MHMR evaluator, not an MD, she was told there was nothing they could do as her daughter was not a danger to herself or others as far as they could tell.
At a loss and in fear of her own sanity by now, she took her children home. That night she cried all night, something she had done many times while still with her abusive ex-husband. Now instead of his abuse, it was the state welfare and no insurance for her sick daughter torturing her. She even thought of going back to him, at least the kids could go to the doctor. The next evening she asked the lady next door to watch her youngest children so she could go to work. Her daughter, agitated from the visit with MHMR the night before, had become too unpredictable to trust. No sooner had she gotten to work, her neighbor called her frantic, her daughter was outside her apartment throwing bricks at her windows and had taken a piece of glass and cut herself while threatening to cut anyone who was in reach. The police were called and an ambulance had taken her to the hospital. As she drove to the hospital, she was in some way relieved, now maybe, her daughter will get the help she needs.
One week later her child was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder, her children and her had Medicaid, AFDC and food stamps. They could eat and be healthy, but now they were homeless because she was forced to stop working to care for her child and could not pay her rent or utilities. The state had served her ex with papers for child support so she also had the worry he would find her and the abuse would start again. Her and her children lived in a homeless shelter now. The waiting list for section 8 housing and subsidized apartments had over a yr waiting list before they could get a place to call home. The stress worsened her daughters mental condition and she committed suicide at the age of 15 six weeks later. Nineteen yrs after the fact, this Mom still cries herself to sleep some nights.
A catch 22 situation. I wonder how different it would have been if she had only been able to get her daughter medical help sooner.

ANOTHER DIABETIC FOR THE DIALYSIS UNIT
My dad, a diabetic, was started on insulin only a few months ago and was told by his doctors to quit working because of his illness. However his health insurance was through his employment and included short term disability insurance too. He decided to keep working even though his doctors told him to quit. He needed the income to pay for his medications. Recently his illness worsened and he landed in the ER. That was his last day at work and now his lights are turned off, his water is cut off, and he lost his insurance. He can't afford his 14 different medications either. So even If you pay for something your entire working life, you still might not get the coverage you need when you need it the most. His blood pressure gets very high now, sometimes near 300. The doctor said his kidneys are about to go.  -march 2005

A VETERAN WHO IS STILL FIGHTING FOR THIS COUNTRY
I am over 60 years of age and have heart problems and skin cancer. I started working at the age of 12. And I still try and find odd jobs to buy food. The costs of health insurance are out of sight for us making less than one hundred dollars a week. The newspaper recently reported that "only between 14 and 18 percent of Americans over age 65 can afford to retire in 2004." The lack of money, the high costs of medical care and the low wage jobs for those who try to work are major factors. If you seek to fix health care, I suggest you read a book on FDR. In the 1930's and 1940's he had the same goal but unfortunately he didn't live long enough. Our President has set the poverty level for a family at $28,000 per year while $10,000 is a high wage in Florida where it's homes all costing over $100,000. I served this country for six years in active military, my father served in WWII and my grandfather served in WWI. My ancestors came to this country in 1832. But I have a better answer for myself and those who ask me. Did you ever hear the story of what goes up must come down?
Is it time to leave America?

TWO FULL-TIME JOBS DOESN'T GAURANTEE HEALTH INSURANCE
  This 20 year old nonsmoker had a car accident one early Thursday morning on his way home from the dentist's office. Fortunately he had no serious injuries since he wore a seatbelt. He only broke his glasses and bruised his face when the airbag deployed in his friend's car. In the emergency room the patient said, "I think I fell asleep at the wheel." He went on to explain how he worked two full-time jobs five days a week, one from 10pm until 6:30am and then the second from 8am until 2:30pm. He even added the fact that he volunteered on Wednesday afternoons in the local church. Thursday mornings were particularly difficult days for him but he would catch-up on his sleep on the weekends.   
  But this Thursday morning was different since he had a dental appointment to adjust his temporary dentures. Months earlier the dentist had to remove all of his teeth secondary to previously untreated dental abscesses. And his dental surgeries and orthotics cost him thousands of dollars out-of-pocket too. He explained how he never had dental insurance and admitted his mother rarely took him to the dentist as a child. When he was younger he had medical insurance under his mother's policy but then he lost that coverage too when he turned nineteen.  Neither of his current jobs offered dental or medical insurance.  He even tried to apply for Medicaid but was turned down because he worked full-time and lived with his mother. 
     Why are these facts so important in this accident victim's life? When asked why he worked so much, the patient said, "I have to pay my dentist! I still owe him $500 and I will need permanent dentures soon. They'll cost me thousands."

AN INSULIN DEPENDENT DIABETIC WITHOUT INSULIN
  He was fifteen when he first developed diabetes and required multiple daily insulin shots. Luckily he had health insurance and received medical care from the specialist at the Children's Hospital. However when he turned eighteen he lost his health insurance and prescription coverage. He was no longer eligible for Medicaid since his parents both received raises at jobs located outside the state. And this diabetic having recently completed high school started looking for a job himself. But now he had no health insurance and only a minimal income. He knew he couldn't pay his doctor and so he cancelled his next doctor's appointment. When his sugars climbed high, he would give himself more regular insulin. However, one day when he tried to refill his insulin prescription, the pharmacist told him no because the previous insulin prescription was over six months old. A common situation many Medicaid patients often find themselves in. 
  So what happens next to an insulin dependent diabetic when they cannot obtain insulin? He next showed up in the emergency room near death screaming out load with chest pain and suffering from extremely high levels of acid in his blood stream. His doctor knew this recently uninsured patient would have died within hours had he not been treated with intravenous insulin and fluids. The human body cannot survive without insulin, a life-sustaining hormone that allows glucose to enter cells. But this patient's heart muscle was starving. It's ironic that the sugar can be so high in a person's blood stream and yet the cells lack glucose. It's also ironic that the wealthiest nation on the earth that also happens to spend by far the most for healthcare cannot afford to provide health insurance and prescription coverage to this patient.
  It was a miracle that he did not die, not this day anyhow. This young diabetic survived the four day intensive care hospital stay and to this day remains uninsured. He has made it to nineteen but his kidney function has already deteriorated some from lack of adequate diabetes control. Will he be the next patient on dialysis or will he go blind first. After all, he can always go to the emergency room when he needs an insulin shot. 

SORRY, WE DO NOT LOWER OUR RATES FOR UNINSURED PATIENTS
  He was in school and had health insurance. But his mental illness got the best of him. His regular doctor tried to treat the severe anxiety and depression but the medications and therapy did not work. The patient's grades deteriorated and now he could no longer remain in school. His doctor referred the now potentially suicidal patient to the specialist. And initially the doctor did see the previously insured college student for $150 per office call. Unfortunately the patient, a former student, lost his insurance coverage when he dropped out of school.  He had no job at this time and was obviously unemployable with his current health condition. 
  The now uninsured and unemployed patient asked the specialist for a reduced office charge but the doctor declined. Instead the doctor referred the potentially suicidal patient to a community clinic. And some people wonder why the United States has such a high suicide rate.

TOO LATE FOR INSURANCE, A CANCER GONE ASTRAY
  She was working full-time and in her mid forties. She had no health insurance. Her father had colon cancer at a young age and she knew her abdominal pains might be serious. The lower abdominal pains continued for over six months and she finally obtained health insurance. 
  When she did see the doctor, she referred her immediately for a colonoscopy and they found advanced colon cancer. With her previous family history, most doctors would have referred her for a colonoscopy many years earlier. But she didn't have a regular doctor or insurance in the past. This is the United States and now over 43 million people have no health insurance. This lady did eventually get treated. Part of her colon was surgically removed and now she is on chemotherapy. Hopefully she'll survive past age 50.

SORRY WE DO NOT INSURE PEOPLE OF YOUR COLOR
  Her husband worked full-time and they had children together. She had health insurance coverage when she was younger and pregnant but now was uninsured for many years. Everyone else in the family was covered in their health insurance plan, except mom. The family lived on a modest income. She was in her forties and he didn't think she would get sick.  She also did not have a doctor and her family could not afford private health insurance. 
  One day she developed chest pain and did what many uninsured people do. She waited and later went to the emergency room when the pain became too severe. She had no doctor to call. She did not smoke nor did she drink alcohol. She had no family history of premature heart disease. The ER treated her with medications and discharged her home.  One week later she received a hospital bill for over $1000.  
  Unfortunately for the patient she continued to have pain.  But she didn't want to place her family at more financial risk and so she applied for Medicaid.  She also did not want to go back to the ER.  As fate would have it, her pain worsened over the ensuing days.  The high fever, severe chest and abdominal pain became too unbearable.  She returned to the emergency room only to be diagnosed with an acute abdominal process and required emergency surgery. In the operating room the surgeon found a ruptured gallbladder with pus spilling into the abdominal cavity. The patient survived the twelve day hospital stay including many in the intensive care unit. She was appreciative of everyone's care but to this day remains uninsured.  Could this expensive hospital stay have been prevented with an earlier outpatient laproscopic cholecystetomy? And will she be sent to a collection agency for her enormous hospital bill? 

A CHRONICALLY UNINSURED AMERICAN
  During childhood I do not remember ever seeing a Doctor. It was not until adulthood until I went to a Doctor. Still no insurance I paid cash for the visits.
  According to the good Doctor lack of health care during childhood resulted in a significant hearing loss. Further since I did not know until adulthood that I was blind in one eye and could not see out of the other it was reported to me that I missed a developmental window for coordination development.
  Eye glasses opened up a whole new world to me. I actually went around looking at the world like a tourist. Uncorrected vision it was told to me did not allow me to fine tune my eye to hand coordination. The results are stuff like I cannot ride a bike, I cannot drive a motor vehicle, and it takes me an exponentially longer amount of time to learn anything that involves eye to hand coordination, and that only gets me a slightly less than average mastering of the task.
  No I didn't grow up in a third world country.
  Or maybe I did.
  Except in America we call it poverty.
  The insurance programs supplied by employers serve only to confuse me. Most coverage has been provided via HMOs. When I call to get an appointment in order to create base line data, they say just come in when you get sick. When I get sick I call in and cannot get an appointment for a month. 
  Another employment insurance program I had offered great insurance if I had an accident. They would pay 100% if I went in via the emergency room. However if I went to the Doctor's office there was a 2k deductable. Again no base line data or preventive medicine was available.
  While my story is not as tragic as the ones you have listed, I firmly believe that so much loss could be avoided (that is, loss of quality of life, money, and life) if I had preventive medicine and health insurance earlier in my life. As told by Ron, an American

A LANDSCAPER GOES BROKE FROM A BROKEN LEG!
  My name is Mike and I am a single 37 years old male living in New York. In 1997 I was in Puerto Rico on a karate seminar and had an accident, seriously breaking my leg. At the time, I was employed as a landscaper, and was earning a poverty level income. I had no personal health insurance. After being treated at a local emergency room in Puerto Rico, I returned to New York city, where I sought care at an orthopedic office near where I lived. I went to them because in the mid 1970's my mother had had back surgery through this office. 
 I met with the surgeon who had done my mother's surgery. I explained that I had no medical insurance, save some possible coverage through my karate school's accident policy (approximately $5000.00). The doctor did not seem concerned, nor did he make any suggestions as to what I should do. He even resisted discussing the cost of the surgery when I asked. He simply said I "needed" the surgery. I was young, injured, and scared, so I agreed and booked the surgery, telling myself I would figure out how to pay for it after I was better.
  I was in the hospital for about seven days recovering. To my shock, the final bill was in excess of $17,000 dollars. The karate school's insurance policy paid $5000 towards the hospital bill, and the hospital assisted me in finding some additional coverage to pay the remainder of the hospital bill, that left the surgeon and anesthesiologist bills to pay, more than $6000.00. It would be months before I could walk, let alone work 100% as a landscaper. 
  Fortunately, my boss allowed me to do some office work, which enabled me to make just enough money to pay for rent and food, but little else. At first I tried to pay the orthopedic physician a little each month, but soon realized I was quickly being buried by bills. My credit card bills were piling up. I was 90-120 days late on some. I also needed rehabilitation, and couldn't afford it. I fell quite deeply into debt. 
  Soon I began receiving collection notices from an agency representing my doctor. The account was eventually forwarded to an attorney for collection, who sent even more threatening letters. This was around the Spring of 1998. I still was not back to work fully, and did not have money to pay them.
  In June of 1998, I decided to move to a cheaper apartment in an effort to save money. Shortly afterwards, I stopped working as a landscaper and began working at a computer related job. After I moved, I contacted the attorney with the intention of making at least some sort of payment towards the bill. I spoke to a secretary and explained that I hadn't worked in months but was now working. I also told her I was deeply in debt, but I could probably manage $50.00 a month. She said she didn't think this would be acceptable, but would discuss it with her boss and get back to me. I was never contacted again by the attorney, either by phone or mail. In retrospect, I should have contacted them, but after months of being harassed by collection agencies, I was simply at my wits end. I suppose I imagined that they gave up, but I was wrong.
  In the Summer of 2003, I was surprised to learn that my personal checking account had been frozen by an attorney representing my orthopedic surgeon. I had a lawyer do some research and learned that in 1999 I had been served to appear in court for the debt owed to them. The date and location the service was given was listed as my old address, and at a time when I wasn't even living there.
  The lawyer said this was commonly known as a sewer service, where they either leave it with someone else, or with no one at all, and simply "say" that I had been served. Since I never knew about the court date, I obviously did not show up to defend myself, and a default judgment was entered against me for approximately $6800.00. This was in 1999.
  In New York, judgments accrue interest at 8.00% per year, so as of 2003, I now owe close to $10,000.00. The Sheriff levied my checking account and took the $600.00 I had, but I still owe over $9000.00, with no way to pay. I am self employed and basically live month to month. I have considerable credit card debt, no savings, and no assets other than a nine year old car and a very small IRA account, which I hope they don't take. I have had a lawyer attempt to contact the attorney representing the doctor to offer a settlement, but they have ignored his repeated calls and letters. I don't know what to do. I'd like to fight the judgment because I never had a chance to defend myself, but I don't think I can afford it now. I do know one thing. I had no health insurance when I broke my leg, and no options, which is why I'm in the state I'm in.
  I don't even want to think of what might have happened if I had a family or a home. I could have lost everything, which I'm sure has happened to many people in this country.

UNINSURED FOR OVER TEN YEARS!
  Emily came to the emergency room seriously ill. She had no insurance for over ten years and had no personal physician. Her abdominal pain had become too unbearable for her. To the treating physicians she looked like a former concentration camp victim but instead they found Emily had a large abdominal mass and advanced cervical cancer. She explained how she became uninsured when she lost her job 10 years earlier after the local plant closed. Unemployed and uninsured she decided to remain at home and care for her ailing father. Unfortunately Emily failed to see any doctor even once during the next ten years. She felt she couldn't afford the medical bills or the office visits. Prior to her death, she explained how she would have seen a doctor sooner if she had insurance. But it was too late for Emily, she died three days after her first healthcare encounter in the United States in ten years. Would a simple PAP smear years earlier have saved her life?

AGGRAVATED HIGH DRUG COSTS AND HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
  Roy, a strong-bodied, self-employed farmer, arrived in the emergency room unconscious after suffering a severe stroke. His severe high blood pressure caused bleeding in his brain. He was only sixty-two years old and had been uninsured for many years. Five months earlier he had sought treatment in the same emergency room after cutting his finger. His systolic blood pressure at that time was well over 200. The emergency room physician sewed up his finger and advised him to follow up with his regular doctor. Roy did later see his physician and blood pressure medications were prescribed. But he had trouble paying for his prescriptions. He had asked his physician for less expensive blood pressure medications, and the doctor did make some changes in the treatment. Roy had previously complained about the high costs of some diagnostic tests he had performed on him two years earlier. He was still trying to pay off those overdue bills. But now he needed more than just stitches and blood pressure pills. His coma and current condition required life-support machines, intravenous medications and specialists. For Roy the expensive and heroic treatments were too late. His family and doctors had to make the heart wrenching decision to withdraw life support. His chance of regaining any meaningful recovery or even consciousness was lost with the massive stroke. He died three days after admission to the hospital. Would prior health insurance and prescription coverage have prevented this coma and loss of life?

AN UNTREATED HYPERTENSIVE DIABETIC FARMER!
  Sam was a hard working, self-employed, married farmer but had no health insurance. He knew he had high blood pressure and possible "sugar" but used herbs to treat his medical problems instead of seeing a doctor the previous two years. One day after working in the barn, Sam suddenly started coughing up pinkish phlegm and gasping for air. He thought it was merely a cold. Soon Sam's vital signs became critically unstable and his skin turned a dark blue in color. Oxygen had failed to enter his bloodstream as a result of congestive heart failure and fluid-filled lungs. He nearly died that night in the emergency room but intravenous medications luckily took hold and turned this precarious situation around. Sam's untreated high blood pressure and diabetes, however, had already done considerable damage and urgent cardiac testing at a larger medical center was required. Sam and his family were eventually convinced to have the additional tests and hospital treatments. Their major objections were the high costs and his lack of health insurance. They knew he could not afford the needed cardiac surgery. Sam survived this illness, but for how long? 

EVEN HEALTHCARE WORKERS GO UNCOVERED!
  Lois was a middle-aged health aid who worked part time for many years at a for-profit or "investor-owned" nursing home. She had a career in the health industry, yet was uninsured and could not afford doctor visits or her prescriptions. Lois tried to obtain Medicaid and was turned down because her family's yearly income of $12,200 was "too much". 
  Lois suffered from chronic high blood pressure and diabetes, but without health insurance, had not see her physician for over a year. Having had trouble affording her medications, she went without some. She once told her doctor, "I borrowed insulin from my sister who has insurance." Lois eventually stopped working when her health failed and "couldn't see". She even used her son's old toy binoculars to help her watch TV.
  Her doctors were not surprised when she was later admitted to the intensive care unit with a major stroke, severe hypertension and uncontrolled diabetes. She had even stayed away from the emergency room for three days with her stroke symptoms before seeking help because of the costs and her lack of insurance. 
  Lois did recover partially from the stroke but still failed to qualify for Medicaid. Her husband made "too much money", $100 per month over the minimum Medicaid threshold. How many preventable disabling strokes will other doctors treat next year? 

A CARPENTER WITH INTERMITTENT COERAGE!
  George, a 58 year old uninsured carpenter, came to emergency room seeking care for his symptoms of blood in his urine and extreme thirst. He had no personal physician and for months had delayed seeking care for his numerous complaints. The self-employed carpenter was unable to afford health insurance given his low and fluctuating income. His previous history of diabetes also prevented him from obtaining insurance because of "preexisting medical conditions". Without insurance he would not see doctors unless an emergency. And many medications were not filled at the pharmacy because of excessive costs. 
  Unfortunately, the blood in his urine was from cancer and required major surgery. George, however, was a proud man and knew he could not afford it. He had always tried to pay his bills before, and so he decided to delay his surgery. Apparently he also had a new job for the previous eleven weeks and needed to work one more week to possibly qualify for health insurance benefits. He elected to forgo surgery and leave the hospital after a five day stay but promised to come back once insured. 
Regrettably, George did not return for any treatment until four months later when he accidentally cut off most of his thumb performing carpentry duties. Emergency surgery was performed and not surprisingly, he was also found to have uncontrolled sugar and an enlarged tumor. The now disabled carpenter finally agreed to have the cancer surgery. He survived the fifteen-day hospital stay, but was now unemployed, disabled and impoverished. He reapplied for Medicaid and found insurance coverage, including medications for his diabetes. He even kept some office visits with his current doctor. But the medical bills began to pile up and his some of his medical debts were sent to a collection agency. One account was for $29, another was for $281 and there were others. 
  When George's thumb healed, he returned to work becoming too "wealthy" for Medicaid. His income and some prior pensions made him ineligible for governmental insurance coverage. And he still was too young for Medicare. He rejoined the ranks of the millions of other Americans who are working and uninsured. During these times he would take his medications when he could afford them, and would not take them when he could not.
  One year later George faced another emergency, uncontrolled blood sugars and an infected toe. The specialists performed "expensive" tests for him, more procedures and a "minor" amputation. Another eleven days in the hospital for this uninsured diabetic. He re-qualified for Medicaid after this hospitalization and continued to see his doctor as an outpatient. The antibiotics and other medications were now covered for him under Medicaid. But it was too late. The years of under-treated diabetes and vascular disease had caught up to this carpenter. Four months later he had three of his toes removed for a non-healing foot ulcer. It was "only a one day hospital stay". He kept one more office appointment but failed to show over the next two years. He failed to qualify for disability and lost his insurance coverage again.
Two years later another emergency surgery was needed. He presented in the emergency room with vomiting, an elevated blood sugar and an infected gallbladder. During the carpenter's medical evaluation a new tumor in his urinary bladder was also found. Routine follow-up cancer screening tests by the specialist could have found his tumor much sooner but for this uninsured person these tests did not happen. George had no continuous insurance and could not afford to see doctors. After more surgeries and twenty-three hospital days, the chronically uninsured and under-treated diabetic, cancer, survivor required another major organ removal, his bladder. 
  With his health rapidly failing, and now unable to work, he became impoverished. He still did not qualify for public assistance and was forced to rely on family or friends for shelter, food and medications. Later that year, his kidneys and vision failed and he was unable to care even for his basic needs. His sister would frequently find him at home lying on the floor or in bed too weak to stand up. During the next four months he had two more hospitalizations, twelve days total, three emergency room, two office and multiple home nursing visits to try and control his failing medical condition. After all the government finally gave in, granting him "permanent" Medicaid and even backdated the coverage four additional months. But George's previously under-treated medical problems did not roll back, his kidney function and his vision deteriorated even further. Conditions that could have been prevented with early detection and/or intervention.
His family never will know how George's course of illness could have been different with "normal" continuous treatment and insurance. Access to decent healthcare at an earlier period in his life could have made an enormous difference. At the age of 64 he was blind, paralyzed, required dialysis and lived in a nursing home room with three total strangers. He died just four months short of guaranteed Medicare coverage in the United States. Would continuous Medicare/Medicaid coverage decades earlier have saved this man's life? 

Please send your uninsured or underinsured stories to Dr. Mueller.