This is the number of people living in poverty in the US. That is roughly 1 in 7 people living on less than $903.00 per month. The number of people living without health insurance has increased as well, to 54,000.000 as of 2010.
I am one of those living without health insurance, after working as a W2 employee for over 20 years. I have a college degree, a family and high cholesterol. That high cholesterol, which is treated with medication that I pay for out of pocket, keeps me from purchasing health insurance from an insurance company. I am 46 years old, too young for medicare, and since I own some assets, like a car, I do not qualify for medicaid. Also, my county/state does not offer health care services through the health department. Many people seem to think that you can just go to the health department for healthcare. That is not true. Also, in my city/county, the hospital does not accept patients without medical insurance. Piedmont medical center is the local hospital, and they will transport you anywhere you want to go if you have a medical issue, but they will not treat you at their facility if you do not have health insurance. So now Piedmont wants to build a hospital in the community where I live, Fort Mill, SC. I hope that this construction never happens. There are a number of poor people in Fort Mill, SC.
I recently met a man in Fort Mill with an abscessed tooth, and he has no insurance. He is close to retirement age, but does qualify for medicare. He may not have any history of W2 income, so that would prevent him from any Social Security assistance, so he may just be out of luck. Of course you can die from an abscessed tooth, but of course the hospital in our area couldn't care less. By the way, there is only ONE medicaid dentist in York County, SC and it is going to take a long time to get this man an appointment.
I'm a little angry, a little upset and bitter. Shouldn't we all be?
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