|
Join the CHBC email list!
|
Coverage Denied
Get In Line: The Crisis of Specialty Care
In 1999 Cynthia Garcia’s son suffered his first seizure. This was more than just uncontrolled shaking; he flailed violently. At 6’4” and over 200 pounds, these episodes put him and anyone near him in danger. Disoriented and confused, it took nearly an hour to recover and afterwards he remembered nothing. His seizures have increased in frequency and due to this her son can no longer hold a stable job. Without health insurance, he has not been able to get the specialist care he needs to properly treat and decrease the frequency of his seizures. The once independent and active young man now has to rely on his family and friends for safety and support.
Over the past eight years Mrs. Garcia has sought medical treatment for her son with very little success. Unable to determine the cause of his seizures, doctors have prescribed MRI and CT scans in hopes of providing a diagnosis. Without insurance, however, the family cannot afford these expensive tests. As it is, Mrs. Garcia and her husband have been struggling to pay off doctor visit fees. They sought health care at the county hospital where they knew that “no one was turned away” but appointments were few and far between. Doctors have not been able to manage his seizures and after a year and a half wait, they are yet to see a neurologist who specializes in treating his condition.
With limited funding county hospitals also must negotiate the care they deliver despite the needs. When Mrs. Garcia would call to make appointments for her son she would be told, “We are booked; there are others waiting in line.” “But I have been waiting for eight years for an answer to my son’s problems,” is all Mrs. Garcia can say. Without a diagnosis, her son cannot secure his disability status, nor Medicare through Social Security. He cannot work or be safely left alone. Meanwhile, his seizures are worsening and his anti-epileptic medicine, Dilantin, doesn’t work. After futile years of trying to work with the county hospital system to resolve or at least control his symptoms she has now found a lawyer to help her son get disability. Without assistance Mrs. Garcia and her son have very little hope for the future. She is tense, never knowing when the next seizure will happen and after once being physically harmed by her son in the midst of an episode she fears now for even her own safety. “I’m scared,” Cynthia confesses, “I’m scared for him and for myself, there just doesn’t seem to be any hope but I just have to keep trying.”
Specialty care is nearly unreachable to the uninsured in spite of its necessity to properly diagnose and treat serious conditions such as epilepsy. With budget cuts occurring at Cook County Hospital the waiting lines are only getting longer and there will be many more people like the Garcia family. Health care costs are skyrocketing and the struggle to provide care to people all over the nation is fast reaching a breaking point. It’s not just about need, but necessity. Health must be made a priority for the country and ensuring that everyone, regardless of their insurance status, receives health care is a right that must be upheld. While County Hospitals face crisis budget cuts, implementing universal health care would help make this a reality. It is time to share the burden and shorten the lines.
|
