The Cost of For Profit Health Care - Doctors for America

The Cost of For Profit Health Care - Doctors for America

One of the most frustrating parts of being a Primary Care Physician in the U.S. is not being able to get necessary care for your patients because they cannot afford it. Last week I had to watch a 55-year-old woman with uncontrolled blood pressure and rapidly progressing kidney disease walk out of my office with only half of the medications she needed to control the blood pressure and stabilize her renal function. The medications were too expensive, she couldn’t afford adequate insurance coverage, and 22 months after being laid off from her job as a middle school teacher, was still looking for work. Later that morning I sighed helplessly as a 45-year-old diabetic patient told me he had to choose between buying his insulin and paying his rent. I knew if I were in his position, I’d be forced into the same decision.

The thing is, these patients both had health insurance. Such scenarios are unfortunately not unusual. A 2007 survey by the Commonwealth Fund found that even among Americans who were insured all year, 16 percent reported being unable to pay their medical bills, 15 percent had been called by a collection agency about medical bills, 10 percent changed their way of life to pay medical bills and 10 percent were paying off medical bills over time. Because of medical bills or accumulated medical debt, an estimated 28 million adults reported they used up all their savings, 21 million incurred large credit card debt, and another 21 million were unable to pay for basic necessities. And yet sixty-one percent of those with medical debt or bill problems were insured at the time care was provided.

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