During the past few weeks I have been arranging for some medical aid. Has a homeless person and one with no personal income, I qualify for a local program that gives me access to very basic medical services, and I do mean very basic services.
Once I received appro9val, I then attempted to schedule my first doctor’s appointment. This exam would do the basic review of your current and past medical history and would put you into the system so that it would be easier to get dental and eye care services as well.
When I called a couple of locations close to me, I was advised that there would be no appointment scheduled until late March, April or maybe even May and this was at the end of November when I called. Three to five months of waiting for an exam, no telling how long I would have to wait for treatment. I didn’t make any appo99ntments at the time as I was completely disgusted at the situation. Where were our tax dollars going to? The answer is simple, other patients. The system is simply maxed out and barely working as it is due to the increasing amount of homelessness, new people added to the poverty levels and more and more people who simply cannot afford any medical insurance at all. The greed of corporations and of doctors continues to push medical service out of reach for the average American, screw the poor.
After I waited a couple of days, I made another call to a different location and was shocked by the fact that they had an opening in just a few days. I took it without hesitation!
When I arrived at this location, I was surprised at how clean and new it was and at how empty the waiting room was as well. I found out it was one of the newer locations to have opened up, thus not many people knew about it yet. A blessing for me.
The staff was friendly and very competent which an extra benefit to me was. My exam was uneventful so far. Good health as expected, minus the sinus issues. Because of this exam, I was able to get my voucher for an eye exam and glasses, which I defiantly needed. My glasses are over six years old and my contacts are expired. I need new eye wear! It will not be what I want or what I am use to, but it will be good solid vision and that’s what is important. I have an appointment scheduled soon, so hopefully within a week I will have my new glasses.
What should be noted is that the system is broke. I was lucky to get an appointment as early as I had. The frustration I felt on trying to get an appointment is what everyone feels who is homeless and because of this, they give up. A few will go to an emergency room knowing that they will get treated one way or another. Thus the country hospital emergency rooms become over loaded and congested, which then creates more issues for those true emergencies that come in.
It’s the large number of peop0le who give up on trying to get medical care and suffer with their condition until it goes away, or they die from it. While they suffer with it, they may also be spreading the disease or illness that they have which also adds to the medical overload. Those that die from their illness because they didn’t get medical care is the true shame of what is happening, they are dyeing when they shouldn’t be.
What I have written is nothing new. It’s been going on for 20 plus years and most likely even longer than that. It is for you as a reader of this that may not fully understand as it is not happening to you; it’s happening to the writer, therefore there is little to no connection to you. It’s just words on a computer.
What angers me the most is how our political leaders continue to ignore what’s going on. Based on their actions and lack of actions our country is in a complete mess financially. With our current election cycle, we will hear a lot of lip service to please us, but after the elections are over, I seriously doubt anything will be done to correct it. The continued bickering between the two parties creates more and more antagonism that creates more road blacks then it does compromise. What will it take to get them to remember who they work for; the American people, not their party.
Will millions of Americans have to die in one year for them to get their act together? I pray to God that is not the case.
But it is clear, something has to change and fast. Being homeless is the equivalent of a death sentence and even worst then that. At least on death row you have shelter and three meals a day. Being homeless you are lucky for shelter and one meal a day. You are almost certainly guaranteed a slow agonizing death.
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