HUFFINGTON
02.16.14
TOO POOR FOR OBAMACARE
ance — the second-highest of all
the states behind Texas. In MiamiDade County, where Alphonse
lives, the uninsured rate was an
astonishing 34 percent in 2011, the
most recent year county-level data
were available.
‘I JUST TRY TO LIVE EVERY DAY’
Unable to afford medical care or
insurance, Alphonse hasn’t followed up on the warning he received about his kidneys from a
doctor treating a knee injury he
suffered in 2011 while working as
a security guard. Alphonse was
told he needed to see a kidney
specialist and start getting treatments, or he’d risk the condition
worsening to the point he’d need
dialysis or a transplant.
“It’s extremely scary, but I try
not to think about it. I just try to
live every day because it’s what
you have to do to survive,” Alphonse said.
A few years ago, Alphonse broke
his hand and faced a $1,000 emergency room bill that destroyed his
credit. He’s afraid to rack up medical bills now. Even copayments as
low as $20 at community health
centers, which charge low-income
patients on a sliding scale, are
unaffordable, he said. He’s apply-
“It’s kind of odd where
an individual that has
an opportunity to help
millions of people in their
own state, and they just
totally refuse to do it.”
ing for health benefits through the
Department of Veterans Affairs,
but he may not meet the program’s
eligibility rules.
While hospitals can’t turn away
patients in need of emerg V