Health care answers asleep under interstate overpass
For the guy living under the Interstate-10 overpass on Thomasville Road in Tallahassee, it seems unlikely he would consider repealing and replacing Obamacare as a priority issue. Basic needs are probably higher up on his list of concerns.
Most likely, he is unemployed, short on cash, and lacking in health-care coverage. There’s a fair likelihood that he has a mental illness. Researchers tell us that about 25 percent of the homeless population in the nation are mentally ill.
Regardless of the status of his heath-insurance coverage, we, as a community, will take care of the homeless man in the event of a medical emergency. Should he become dehydrated, have a heart attack, or get hit by a car (God forbid), a good Samaritan will hopefully intervene and have him transported to Capital Regional Medical Center or Tallahassee Memorial Hospital’s emergency room. Receiving treatment for urgently needed medical care is his right under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act.
EMTALA (a k a “Patient Anti-Dumping” statute), which was signed into federal law by President Ronald Regan in 1986, requires hospitals to evaluate and stabilize patients in need of emergency care regardless of their ability to pay. Bob Dole, then-Senate majority leader and a co-sponsor of EMTALA, promoted the need for hospitals to provide emergency care for everyone.
EMTALA passed with bipartisan support. Yes, there was a time when the Republicans and Democrats worked together.
Florida might have a greater need for EMTALA than most other states. According to 2015 U.S. Census Bureau statistics, Florida’s uninsured rate is the fifthhighest in the nation at 13.3 percent (9 percent uninsured rate for children). Only Texas (17.1), Alaska (14.9), Georgia (13.9) and Oklahoma (13.9) have higher uninsured rates. Massachusetts has the lowest rate at 2.8 percent.
Given the recent Congressional Budget Office report, Florida hospitals, especially in rural and low-income areas, should start planning for increasing financial struggles. The CBO analysis of the latest Senate Republicans’ health-care bill includes an estimate of 22 million more Americans losing coverage in the next decade, with the number of uninsured climbing to 46 million by 2026.
Trumpcare, as it now stands in stalled mode, would result in higher individual premiums and increased employer costs. And, if a Florida Chamber of Commerce task force report from 2015 is accurate, most of us lucky ones with insurance will want to avoid ERs if at all possible. The Florida Chamber indicates that insured Floridians are paying approximately $2,000 more per hospital stay to cover hospital costs for the uninsured.
We’re almost six months into Donald Trump’s presidency, and what do we have to show for repealing and replacing Obamacare? Lots of babbling about votes by multimillionaires Mitch McConnell and Paul “Chief Bean Counter” Ryan. Maybe a sleepover on the sidewalk under the I-10 overpass would provide them with some insight.
They should schedule their next work group at a Medicaid nursing home.
Where are Ronald Reagan and Bob Dole when we need them?