My initial thought is working full time and indigent don’t add up. Both he and his wife had full time jobs. Yes insurance for individuals is expensive and they truly might not have been able to afford it. But there are still offices that can take payment arrangements. His symptoms started a year before he was seen in the clinic mentioned. Why did it take him so long to take advantage of their services? Why didn’t he at least try to find an insurance policy that would cover hospitalization?
Access to insurance does not always equate to access to health care. Doctors in this story are the one who decided they could not examine the man let alone treat him unless he had insurance. They offered no alternatives to this patient for funding sources or even payment options. And they have the nerve to blame a lack of socialized medicine for this?
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We afford what we want to afford. What kind of cars did they drive, did they have a big screen TV, boat, other luxury items that may have been unwise purchases.
People who are truly poor qualify for Medicaid, people who make enough to pay for insurance but would rather spend it enjoying life do not qualify for Medicaid. I have nothing against enjoying life but if you roll the dice and lose it shouldn't be somebody else’s problem.