Uninsured left in the lurch-Thousands pour into SW Va. this weekend seeking free health care

[underpants]

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-07-27-0204.html

WISE -- They have come by the thousands.

An expected 3,000-plus residents of Southwest Virginia and neighboring states are here through today for one reason -- to get basic medical care they couldn't otherwise afford.

According to the figures released this year by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis, per-capita personal income in Wise County is $25,330. That's about $14,000 less than the state average and several thousand less than in the Richmond area. The U.S. personal per capita income is $36,714.

A study by the Southwest Virginia Graduate Medical Education Consortium paints a bleak picture about health in this part of the state. In the study, Southwest Virginia is defined as the 16-locality area between and including Lee County to the west and Bland, Wythe and Carroll counties to the east.

The study found that people living in the region are 26 percent more likely to die from heart disease, 52 percent more likely to die from pneumonia or flu and 28 percent more likely to die from diabetes than other Virginians.

About 25 percent of the area's residents have no health insurance.


READ THIS WHOLE ARTICLE!



Read more: http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-07-27-0204.html

---

Dr. Ross Isaacs of Charlottesville said ...."This is what we do -- we take care of people," Isaac said. "There isn't a cash register between me and my stethoscope, nor should there be."




I was in Roanoke about 6 weeks ago and the Roanoke Civic Center ( a 12,00 seat size facility) was FULL, the parking lot at least, for free Dental.

Check out the SLIDESHOW at the link-this was in an open air tent. You HAVE TO SEE the difference a set of teeth did for the lady near the end of the slideshow.

Oh here it is-from another source


Melanie Locke, at the Remote Area Medical clinic, is shown here before fitting her upper teeth, left, and after, right. Her lower set of dentures will be ready soon.
http://www.tricities.com/tri/news/local/article/woman_soon_will_have_smile_back/12034/

[DesertFlower]

1. after seeing RAM on 60 minutes

i sent them a contribution.

[underpants]

19. Scott Pelley of 60 Minutes was actually there-as a volunteer

apparently after doing the story he saw the need to show up and help out.

See the slideshow.

[my2sense]

2. Glad someone can lend a hand during these hard times

I never thought I'd see anything like this in the U.S.

[Breeze54]

3. Quite the improvement for that woman! I saw RAM in a special on

PBS, I think and the work they do is incredible. I really hope that all those people vote out the
jerks blocking their health care access in November!! All those people being neglected is criminal!

:grr:

:kick: & recommended

[DesertFlower]

4. it is criminal.

i wonder why HR 676 has gotten more support. then again, i do know. our politicians are in the pockets of the special interests, i.e., insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

[Breeze54]

6. I signed a petition for that to get it passed... from the The Citizens Alliance for National Health

Enough talk already... together let's just get it done!

http://www.hr676.org/

The Citizens Alliance for National Health Insurance

HR676.org,Inc.


THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF HR676.ORG, INC. IS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR

A NATIONAL MULTI-MEDIA ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE THE PASSAGE

OF... House Resolution (H.R.) 676

The United States National Health Insurance Act (“Expanded & Improved Medicare for ALL”)

This bill will provide... Affordable Single-Payer National Health Insurance for All!

Conyers, Gore & Kucinich all support this!!

What Is National Health Insurance (NHI)?

To begin with, it is NOT “Socialized Medicine”, far from it in fact. Also, it does not mean that our medical system will be taken over by the government and run like the post office as many of our opposition friends would mistakenly have you believe.

Basically, House Resolution (H.R.) 676, the “New Expanded Medicare” bill now in sub-committee in the House of Representatives simply creates a new and far more functional “single payer” method of paying for medical services while leaving the medical system itself completely alone and intact. This will eliminate the hundreds of complicated and redundant payment plans currently imposed on the system by private “for profit” health insurance companies and save literally BILLIONS of dollars every year by eliminating such wasteful duplication. This will allow your doctors offices and hospitals to function much more efficiently and serve your needs much more effectively as well. Just imagine what a huge benefit this will be!

Taxes: We all know that nothing of any real value is ever free, but if you think of the taxes that will be required to support national health insurance as simply a lower cost alternative to the staggering private health insurance premiums that most of us already have to pay but which will be totally eliminated under the new system, then it becomes immediately clear that this could be a really good deal after all!

"Health care is a defining right in a democratic society."

~ Congressman Dennis Kucinich ~

Check out some of the tremendous benefits that NHI will bring and see what you think:

* Every citizen of the US will be covered from birth to death.
* No more pre-existing conditions to be excluded from coverage.
* No more expensive deductibles or co-pays.
* All prescription medications will be covered.
* All dental and eye care will be included.
* Mental health and substance abuse care will be fully covered.(1)
* Long term and nursing home services will be included.
* You will always choose your own doctors and hospitals.
* Costs of coverage will be assessed on a sliding scale basis.
* Tremendously simplified system of medical administration
* Total portability – your coverage not tied to any job or location.
* Existing Medicare benefits for those over 65 will remain the same or be vastly improved in many cases.

More..........

If not us, who? If not now, when?

The Peoples Lobby - Making the American People Special Interest #1

[DesertFlower]

8. thanks. i signed a few

weeks ago and made a donation.

[SammyWinstonJack]

15. Four lobbyists to one Congresscritter=no single payer health care for us.

:argh:

[DesertFlower]

20. just what i said.

special interests.

[bertman]

5. These health care professionals are some mighty compassionate and selfless folks.

Bless them all.

[bluesmail]

7. 'First Do No Harm.' n/t

[Delphinus]

23. Yes.

No stronger statement than that - yet too many get into it for the $$$.

[Diclotican]

9. underpants

underpants

I was seeing a special at RAM on one of my channels, this saturday in fact. (60 Minutes run every Thursday and saturday, but not at the same time as in the US, a week after the airing in the US) And I would say that it is amazing that this happened, not in some far away outpost of human civilization in the jungles of the Amazons. But in the rich, powerfully in fact SUPERPOWER The United States of America.. In their thousands they came, with the wish that they could be helped to medical needs.. Because they else would not be possible to get even decent health care..

And that we are talking about, is maybe 47 million american who have either no health care at all, or under founded so the health care they do get, is inadequate anyway..

United States can use equlimant of 3,330 Billion Norwegian Kroner at the war in Iraq, but can not give your citizen decent health care, because a public founded health care system would be for "communist".. What world are the most of americans living in anyway??. To deny more than 50.000.000 people of your own nation the healtcare and public service they need, to not be a "communist state" is just sickening for me who are living in Europe.. Yes we do pay more taxes, and our system is far from perfect. But I would rather have our health care system, than the US type of health care. Who are anyone for them selfs.. If you are rich enough to have a decent health care plan then good. If you are not that, sorry boddy go to the emergency rom and get some help.. If you would survive then.. If not, well you are on your own..

What US need is an single payer system of public health care... More than ever it looks like you really are inn need for a public founded single payer system of sorts.. Many consepts out there of how it would work.. But you REALLY sees to need it...

Diclotican

Sorry my bad english, not my native language

[underpants]

10. As we all know it costs us, all of us, more to NOT have health care for everyone

WEll actually we have sick care not health care-this RAM thing in the article is actual health care, checking to see IF someone is sick.

The whole thing makes no sense, the situation we are in.

[antigop]

11. Unfortunately, it does make sense when you look at ...

http://opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=F09

[underpants]

17. Excellent site

thanks

[DesertFlower]

22. yes. thanks.

i bookmarked it.

[Lorien]

55. And there it is. The REAL reason why we'll never have universal health care

we'd be paying for our health care and NOT for corporate and political profits!

[cap]

12. this is like the frickin 3rd world!

cripes... like a Doctors Without Borders clinic onsite after a natural disaster.

[Liberal_in_LA]

13. I notice that most are getting dental work. Poor or missing teeth affect so many aspects of life..

including the ability to get a job.

[Skittles]

24. those pics of Ms. Locke tell the story

she went from looking trashy to looking pretty - yes

[psychmommy]

14. we are a 3rd world country.

this is exactly what the top 1% wanted and now they have it. for those of us lucky enough to have insurance and affordable copays-take advantage while you have it. just like pensions, it is going the way of the dinosaur. i will sign the petition. this gov't is supposed to serve us not the insurance companies. our voices are being heard we have to keep yelling. my father's side of the family is from va. there is so much diabetes in the family. that was the first time i saw somebody give themselves a needle. that is the ones who could afford to go to the doctor. this is sad and negligent.

[lovuian]

16. Actually third world countries have BETTER Healthcare

than US ...like Cuba

Americans are getting what they want poor healthcare and still pay astronomical bucks and taxes

when are they going to wake up

[underpants]

18. Mexico

the reason you don't hear about the threat of DISEASE from "illegal aliens" is because it doesn't exist (this was a talking point they slip it back in from time to time) that is of course due to societal factors as well as the fact the Mexico has an adequate health care system. Long term thinking people in our planning and medical communities instituted our practice of educating medical professionals here -- the best way to prevent massive outbreaks (from getting here) is prevention.

If you can check out the slideshow on the original link. This is not the crowd we are condition to think of when we hear "poor".

[defendandprotect]

28. True . . . we rank 37th in health care in the world . . . hey, where's the movie SICKO . . .!!??

Never to be played on TV, I imagine --- !!!


I have to buy a copy of it --- it's the only one of his movies I don't own!

[MountainLaurel]

45. And that 37th is an average

If you look at the figures for certain jurisdictions, the rankings are much, much worse. I attended a first-year med school lecture a few years ago for work, and among the figures presented was one showing that infant mortality rates in the poorest wards of Washington, D.C., were on par with those of countries like Afghanistan and Lesotho.

[defendandprotect]

59. That was the figure I picked up probably more than 10 years ago!!!

...so I'm sure the numbers are even worse now . . . !!!

And, yet, Americans still think that we lead in medicine --- !!!!

[psychmommy]

30. i saw that on michael moore's movie.

that hospital looked way better than any hospital in my area. our folks got excellent health care there. i would pay more taxes to get quality health care.

[DollyM]

25. Benefits in general are going away . . .

My husband has been out of work for 10 months and nearly every job he has interviewed for has had lousy benefits (high premiums for insurance coverage) or none at all. I just interviewed for a "mental health consultant" position with Head Start, which I didn't get but what really bothered me was that the position required a Master's degree, was part time (20 to 20 hours a week) and offered no benefits. You would think that Head Start, an goverment program that prides itself on helping people overcome and get out of poverty (not sure if the statistics actually bear that out but that is another subject . . .) would see the importance of making sure their workers are provided with health insurance, especially since they have went to the expense and time of getting a Master's degree. Yet with this position, just like with every other we have interviewed with or applied for over the last 10 months, they get are getting 50 or 60 or more QUALIFIED people for every position opening. People are so desperate for jobs they will take anything, whether it has benefits or not and employers no this too. One job I actually lost out to a 72 year old man because the company didn't provide health insurance and the last director they had died because she had colon cancer and no health insurance. Since he had Medicare, they hired him instead. No they didn't tell me that but I know he was not as qualified as I was and they made a point of asking me in my interview if I had my own health insurance or some way of getting my own. I think they probably regret hiring this other fellow as he is a real dud but at the time, they choose who they thought would be less of a liability since he had some health care insurance and I didn't. I hope something is done to turn this country around and fast! My husband has three months of extended unemployment coming to him and we have a little bit of retirement saving left to cash in and that is it. I figure we can survive to the first of the year if we are really careful. Then I don't know . . . It makes me angry to think that we both spent all these years in school, getting the education that everyone says is so important and we are competing with hundreds of other desperate people for a handful of jobs.

[psychmommy]

29. i'll be praying for you and yours.

i have a master's also. i am not utilizing it. i work for the state and so far we still have bennies but, we are paying more and more for them. i am not going to complain because i can still afford them. don't get discouraged. change is gonna come.

[raccoon]

46. Best to you and your family. Thanks for your post.

Where are you, if you don't mind? Course things are sucky all over basically.

[DollyM]

58. Raccoon . . .

We were in Illinois, my husband worked under a grant, the grant ended--job ended, got a job in Wisconsin, boss who hired my husband left and he was canned in short succession after only 8 months, we stayed in Wisconsin because we had a lease on an apartment but had no luck finding decent work there and were making both house payments on a house in Illinois and rent payments on an apartment in Wisconsin so as soon as the lease was up we went back home to Illinois. No jobs here and an unemployment rate of 8.75 percent but we have half a house paid for and family that loves us here so we will survive day by day.

[bonito]

21. K&R!

[ileus]

26. Bland Co resident here, the wife works at our rural clinic.

[underpants]

42. Hi!

[defendandprotect]

27. Keep in mind Medicare doesn't do DENTAL . . . or EYEGLASSES . . .

and it's very, very necessary to provide that kind of care to the elderly ---

Bless these doctors who are helping everyone --- !!!

[quidam56]

31. We are thankful and blessed by people who truly care for people

This is a look at what is deemed and defended as acceptable standards of care here in Southern Appalachia. www.wisecountyissues.com

[Blue_Tires]

32. ttt

[Withywindle]

33. I grew up in Carroll County.

One of the Appalachian stereotypes that just INCENSES me when people joke about it is the whole bad teeth thing.

Yup, you see a lot of bad teeth around there.

Why?

Because people are fucking POOR, that's why. And dental care, especially cosmetic things, has to take a low priority when you've got a bigger financial crisis to deal with, which poor people pretty much always do.

[underpants]

43. I hope you know that I didn't mean that picture as a slight towards her

I thought it was rather remarkable what a little dentistry could do

[Withywindle]

50. Oh no, I know you didn't mean it that way.

I'm glad someone is out there helping people - it DOES matter, and I'll bet that lady feels like she has a whole new outlook on life.

[raccoon]

47. Yes, there is definitely a correlation between the state of one's teeth

and their socioeconomic status. Especially after you're over 30-40.

[raccoon]

48. Agree--that's definitely kicking somebody when they're down. nt

[RamboLiberal]

34. How sad and this should show that universal healthcare

with dental is needed in this country.

Watching the slide show I'm struck that the crowd seems all white. And I just had to look up how Wise County Virginia voted in 2004 - 58.2% Bush. I wonder how they will vote this time.

And no I'm not blaming them completely. After all 40% voted for Kerry. But I also find it so sad in many of these poor rural areas so many are bamboozled in to voting against their own or their neighbor's best interests by the false issues the Republicans throw up.

One other thing I found interesting in the slide show - one of the female medical practioners is apparenly Muslim by her head covering. Good for her and I bet many there don't care that she is Muslim as long as she is aiding them.

[underpants]

37. This is an all white (mostly) area

Virginia coal mining country I believe. There also used to be a lot of textile jobs in this general area (west of Roanoke) but those mostly went away.

You'd think that a 68 year old guy (as mentioned in the article) just from time on the job or experience would eventually earned more than $10 a hour but apparently not.

:shrug:

This is a region of Va. that is of itself really. Completely a different world from NoVA or Central VA (Richmond) or Tidewater (SE Va.)-Tidewater is about a 6 to 7 hour drive from Wise County to give you an idea of the size.

[Buns_of_Fire]

40. ...and getting whiter. And older.

Property owners are selling off their acreage to developers (or subdividing it themselves) to try to cash in on people who (think they) can afford half-million-dollar homes on a half-acre lot with a mountain view. To live in Smyth County comfortably, you have to have retired with a pretty good retirement package or lots of inherited income -- because there sure ain't no jobs here. Textiles -- gone. Orchards -- gone (an old family friend just shut down his orchard -- the last one in the county, I believe).

By and large, the children of people who owned large chunks of land around here are dumping it as soon as their parents die and getting the hell out of Dodge.

[DeeDeeNY]

38. Not just in Wise County, Va but all over the country

People continue to vote against their own best interests. The woman who asked the question at one of the debates about Obama not wearing a flag pin was someone whose husband wasn't working and who was clearly suffering from the Republican economy - I don't remember all the details, but here is someone who was convinced that the flag pin issue overrode others in importance.
The mainstream media is responsible for a good deal of the blame as to why so many people get bamboozled on these false issues.

[valerief]

41. It's not how they voted. It's how the electronic machines stated they voted.

As long as votes can be so easily manipulated, we'll continue to have a dictatorship.

[defendandprotect]

60. People have to begin to understand that these steals didn't begin in 2000 . . .

they were put in place right after the 1963 coup on our government ---

large computers came in to count the national figures --- used heavily by media ---

and the computers have been coming in way back to late 1960's . . .

[Lorien]

56. That was the photo that struck me the most too

there was a time when young white male doctors who looked more like her patient were leaving America to go out to remote regions in the rest of the world to treat poor women in head scarves (among others) who were far less fortunate than the average American. How times have changed. I wonder if the same occurred to the young man?

[Solly Mack]

35. Sometimes all I can do is cry

I get so angry and the tears just flow

No one should have to die from poverty. No one.

[suffragette]

36. You and me both

It was hard to read this thread through the tears.

[Vinca]

39. It just pisses the hell out of me that Bernie Sanders. who has a plan

for health centers that could provide basic healthcare for every American for what a couple of days in Iraq costs, gets squat out of this government. I think he got a million and a half dollars for healthcare for the entire nation. I'm so fucking pissed.

[underpants]

44. Matt Taibbi wrote about that last week- very sad that it is like this

http://www.alternet.org/story/92431/america%27s_middle_class_can%27t_take_much_more_punishment/

[happygoluckytoyou]

49. hope they are alive to vote in NOVEMBER..... get some national healthcare going FINALLY

of course the GOP = CHEAP LABOR group would prefer that these "defective machines" die off somewhere for free...

not much different than the tossed-aside soldiers at Walter Reed... or the Agent Orange Victims of Nam...

if we were RUNNING A BUSINESS, i'd vote for the GOP.... but we are RUNNING A HUMANITY, and you need more than a mechanical heart

[dysfunctional press]

51. i'd be willing to bet that many if not most of them vote repug, and voted for bush...twice.

i'd be willing to bet that this guy is a republican...and probably proud of it, and just doesn't see the irony of his final statements(if he does vote repug, that is):

Charles Sizemore, a 68-year old retired machinist from Wise County, got in line Friday about 2 a.m. for a basic physical and to get two fillings replaced.

Sizemore raised four children in the area but never had health insurance until he got Medicare when he retired three years ago.

"I wanted to," he said, leaning against bleachers where patients were being registered as the sun rose over the mountains. "There just wasn't enough money. I had to take care of my family, and I never made more than $10 an hour."

All his children have left the area for better-paying jobs, but he's too old to move, he said playfully.

Turning serious, Sizemore said, "I don't mean to be ungrateful. I'm glad RAM comes out and does this. But it's just damned sad that this is the only time most of the people around here are going to see a doctor. It's a damned shame."

[bobbolink]

52. Those photos are striking... but only show the different in appearance.

The difference to her health in having teeth is HUGE. Yet, it doesn't seem to matter to this God-forsaken, ugly society.

And in this judgmental society, the appearance issue is also HUGE.... she will be more accepted and less judged.

No, we are not a pleasant people.

:(

[underpants]

53. Yeah my brother is set to get some new teeth soon

he had tongue cancer and he realy hasn't been able to eat in several years. It was really rough on him. This will really change things. I can't imagine not being able to chew food or worrying about it.

[The Stranger]

54. Did they all arrive with big "W" bumper stickers on the backs of their cars?

[MisterP]

57. mandatory health insurance premiums will save us!

:crazy:
how can we demand benefits when we keep getting a "choice" between neolib and GOPer? (not to mention the roving bands of cultists who scream that the neolibs are our only hope, and that asking questions will make the neolibs lose to the mepublicans)
:banghead: