It's About The Poverty, Stupid!

Regular Newshog commenter Kirkrrt sent me an email with a link to an article today and the message This is appalling to me and yet not surprising. Nothing I didn't know before. I just hope this study stirs politicians into action. I hope, but I doubt it.

As the article reports, a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this week finds that it's all about the money when it comes to getting effective healthcare in the U.S.A.

eight research assistants called 499 ambulatory clinics and identified themselves as in need of follow-up care for pneumonia, high blood pressure or possible ectopic pregnancy -- early pregnancy implanted outside the uterus, such as in the Fallopian tube.

The same research assistant called each clinic twice using the same scenario but reporting different insurance status - no insurance, private insurance, or Medicaid -- the federal/state program for the poor.

"In our study, the callers who were trying to get appointments had potentially very serious conditions," Asplin emphasized. "These were not people trying to get an appointment for a sore throat or a cold. But despite the severity of there conditions, callers still had problems getting appointments when they didn't have the right insurance card."

"This study, I think, speaks to a really important myth that is out there," Asplin said. "That is that a lot of Americans think that, sure we have 45.8 million uninsured people, but when they really need care they get it -- and in our study the uninsured callers really needed care and they weren't able to get it."

63% of callers claiming to have private insurance secured timely follow-up appointments compared with just 34% of those who said they had Medicaid.

There was no difference in rates of secured appointments between callers claiming private insurance and those who were uninsured but willing to pay the entire $100 fee for the visit.

98% of clinics screened callers for a source of payment but only 28% attempted to determine the severity of the callers medical condition.

The bottom line is that if you're not a card carrying member of our healthcare system you're going to have a very difficult time getting access to care, " Dr. Brent R. Asplin from Regions Hospital and HealthPartners Research Foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota, told Reuters Health.

In other words, the unofficial and cold-hearted triage of the US healthcare system is that the ability to pay trumps the severity of illness every time.

Yet the truth is, universal healthcare would be more efficient than the current system. The only people who would lose out are those who currently traffic in profits for illness. I've written about this before. Refer to Public vs. Private Healthcare. Part One - Getting to the Facts. and to Public vs. Private Healthcare.Part Two - Counting the Costs (and Savings) for more details. Progressives are being told that, although they are making a huge outcry about the level of poverty in this country, which has been massively ignored, they have no policies to change things. This should be one of those policies. Universal healthcare regardless of income should be a right of every person in a modern, rich, technological democracy.

"This study, I think, speaks to a really important myth that is out there," Asplin said. "That is that a lot of Americans think that, sure we have 45.8 million uninsured people, but when they really need care they get it -- and in our study the uninsured callers really needed care and they weren't able to get it."

Needing care and unable to get it without money. Sounds just like the "left behind" of New Orleans. Disgusting. America should be ashamed of itself.