I'm doing 39 things
The following is from the referenced article.
- 83% who went to the free clinic are employed, they are not accepting other government help on a large scale, not “welfare queens”. They are tax-paying, good, upstanding citizens who are trying to make it and give their kids a better life just like you and me.
- 90% who came through Saturday’s clinic had two or more diagnoses.
- 82% had a life-threatening condition such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or hypertension.
One of the women was diagnosed with cancer. To quote the article:
It happened as I watched a 50-something woman walk out, after spending several hours being attended to by volunteer doctors. “She’s decided against treatment. A reasonable decision under the circumstances,” the doctor tells us as she heads for the next patient. The president of the board of the National Association of Free Health Clinics tells me why: “It’s stage four breast cancer, her body is filled with tumors.” I don’t know when that woman last saw a doctor. But I do know that if she had health insurance, the odds she would have seen a doctor long ago are much higher, and her chances for an earlier diagnosis and treatment would have been far greater.
After watching for hours as the patients moved through the clinic, it was hard to believe that I was in America.
Reference: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33975919/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olbermann
