USA Today: Gas prices confine sick people

[marmar]

Gas prices confine sick people
By Emily Bazar, USA TODAY



Sick Americans who travel far or frequently to get medical treatment are skipping or delaying appointments, leaving support groups and applying for grants to defray high gasoline prices.
People who visit the doctor multiple times each week or month, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and people needing dialysis, have been hardest hit.

At the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, some skin cancer patients are delaying appointments because they can't afford gasoline, patient service representative Nicole Vliet says.

"It could be just a follow-up appointment, or it could affect their treatment," she says. "I really started to notice it in April when prices started to go up."

The average price for a gallon of regular gas was $3.68 Wednesday. That's down from the peak in July, but it is still about 90 cents above the price a year ago.

In Sacramento, Paratransit Inc. has felt the effect. The non-profit service provides $4 rides to seniors and people with disabilities to doctor's offices and elsewhere. In July, the number of requested rides jumped 11% over the group's projections to 38,506, deputy executive director Mary Steinert says. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-03-medicalgas_N.htm

[firedupdem]

1. don't remember this being addressed last nite. n/t

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

2. But I thought that the fundamentals of our economy were sound.

WTF does that even mean anyway? That's like my piece of shit car is falling apart but overall it's pretty good because it still has 4 wheels.

[Javaman]

3. just have to define "sound", I think it sounds like an emergency vehicle. nt