Uninsured Homeless man in America begs people for help – so he can get medical care. For him and millions of others Obamacare may not come soon enough.
On November 4, 2013 Senator Harry Reid of Nevada asked for and was granted permission to address the United States Senate for a few minutes regarding the delay in the Affordable Care Act.
“The biggest health care crisis in America right now is not the inexcusably messy rollout of Obamacare. No, far more serious is the kind of catastrophe facing people like Richard Streeter, 47, a truck driver and recreational vehicle repairman in Eugene, Ore. His problem isn’t Obamacare, but a tumor in his colon that may kill him because Obamacare didn’t come quite soon enough.”
“Streeter had health insurance for decades, but beginning in 2008 his employer no longer offered it as an option. He says he tried to buy individual health insurance but, as a lifelong smoker in his late 40s, couldn’t find anything affordable–so he took a terrible chance and did without. At the beginning of this year, Streeter began to notice blood in his bowel movements and discomfort in his rectum. Because he didn’t have health insurance, he put off going to the doctor and reassured himself it was just irritation from sitting too many hours”, said Senator Reid (source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov).
The consequences of being uninsured in America are dire! Nationwide, 18,000 adults between the ages of 25 and 64 died in 2000 because they did not have health insurance. That trend unfortunately continues until everyone eventually gets covered.
A delay, no matter how small it is in Obamacare will translate to an increase in people dying in America – for them it simply didn’t come fast enough.
Across the nation, 26,100 people between the ages of 25 and 64 died prematurely due to a lack of health coverage in 2010.
That works out to:
- 2,175 people who died prematurely every month;
- 502 people who died prematurely every week;
- 72 people who died prematurely every day; or
- Three every hour.
(source: Dying for coverage in America http://www.familiesusa.org/resources/publications/reports/dying-for-coverage-findings.html).