'I'm Not Sure It's A Fact' That Lack Of Health Insurance Causes People To Die

And some have pretty urgent issues that need immediate care. Many of them have worked hard most of their life, but the economy here is so horrible, and there are not many jobs. I have no doubt that people die from lack of health insurance.

I live in a rural area and I am also a nurse here and I cannot think of one person who could not travel to another area if they wanted to.

It is very different where I live. I am in a rural part of Michigan, and I work in public health. There is a bus that will take people to local businesses, but it costs money. We have many people call the health department who cannot get a ride to out of town specialists, or cannot even get in to see their own doctor in town because they have no car, no money.

We have many people in our county who refuse care because they are terrified of getting a bill that would ruin them financially. And some have pretty urgent issues that need immediate care. Many of them have worked hard most of their life, but the economy here is so horrible, and there are not many jobs. I have no doubt that people die from lack of health insurance.

I understand the point you are making, and I do know the problems confronting the uninsured. I work with that every day. In the case of this patient, there would have been another option - the BCCP program, which is federally funded and administered at a state level. It pays for diagnosis and treatment (for the uninsured, or underinsured) for women who have breast or cervical cancer. Finding resources is often a lot of work, I do it every day, but there are a lot of resources out there if you look. Then there is always Medicaid that will, in many cases, pay for catastrophic costs on an income-elegible basis.

My friend and her husband make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to buy private insurance. I am glad she was able to get coverage through her husband's job. Good to know about the additional resources; if she has any problems, I will LHK. Also good to know about the recycled wigs.

Do you think that people who are eligible for assistance often don't get it because they distrust the system in some way?

I live in a rural area and I am also a nurse here and I cannot think of one person who could not travel to another area if they wanted to.

How many of them smoke, drink beer, and buy lottery tickets? How many have a dish network dish on top of their house especially the High Definition one.

What you have really said is that people choose not to get health care because they think they cannot afford the care, or do not want to pay for it. I am not belittling what you said, but I work with this population too.I also live in a rural area with a lot of poverty, but I always find a way to get at least partial assistance. I am always amazed and frustrated when I refer an untreated diabetic to our county free clinic but they refuse to go because they are asked to prove financial need. Is this a person who will be dying because of lack of health insurance or because they refused to complete the paperwork necessary to qualify them for free care?