As you know, I am originally from Louisiana. What you probably don't know is that the much-vilified Huey Long started a free hospital and a system of free clinics, way back in the 1930's. The free hospital was established in New Orleans, and now has branches, I know there is one in Baton Rouge, and I think there is one in Shreveport. The hospital was called Charity Hospital, and now the system is the Charity Hospital system. It's definitely a no-frills kind of place, but it's there. There are also free clinics for prenatal care, well-baby care (vaccinations, and so forth) - - I don't know what-all. My dad worked at Charity as a phlebotomist while he was in dental school. He learned to say two things in Spanish - "where does it hurt?" and "how far apart are the contractions?". That's the only Spanish he knows.
I got all my early vaccinations at the free clinics - I remember the smallpox vaccination, the tetanus vaccinations, and the polio vaccinations.
Virginia doesn't have a Charity hospital, per se, but I know for a fact that people who get welfare qualify for Medicaid, which is administered by the states. I know that because I've had a lot of clients on Medicaid. They don't realize they are on Medicaid, they just tell me they have HMO coverage through the state. It doesn't help the working poor, however.
If a person has a full-time job, most likely they won't qualify, unless they are unmarried and have at least two dependents.
But the people you say are indigent really do have the ability to go to an emergency room and get every kind of treatment they need. The hospital processes the paperwork, and gets reimbursed by the federal government. I know that for a fact, because I've helped people qualify.
Here the people in the middle, the working poor, go to a "doc-in-the-box" - freestanding clinic - and get the kind of care you are talking about for $30 to $50.
I am not opposed to free hospitals and clinics for poor people, but I don't think they should be available to people who can afford insurance coverage but don't bother to get it. And I don't see how free hospitals and clinics would be better than what we've got now.
I suspect you aren't talking about the poor, you're talking about the feckless. People who wouldn't bother to keep their cars in working order except for the fact that the state forces them to have the cars inspected. People who wouldn't carry liability insurance on their vehicles except that the state requires it. People who wouldn't make their kids finish school except that the state requires it. People who wouldn't make sure their kids get vaccinated except that the state requires it. The nanny state, so reviled by Terry and his ilk.
If we make them carry liability insurance on their cars, why can't we make them carry health insurance? |
