Death is not an option!

 The stories contained in this book are the stories of those who probably died prematurely through no fault of their own. They were simply human beings who were not afforded access to health care. They had no health insurance. They were either not offered health insurance through their jobs or the premiums were too expensive. The premise the uninsured have to choose between paying a premium and putting food on the table for their family is real and very self evident in this country. Many feared losing all of their worldly possessions due to accruing a large set of medical bills. When asked why they waited so long to seek care, many said the care offered in the Clinic was for "other people, those who deserved it more". Those words cut like a knife. In reality those same words probably helped to place a nail in their own coffins. Those words are often spoken by many of the patients, not just those mentioned here. Many say that pride keeps them from seeking "free" care since they take extreme pride in working and providing for their families. On a daily basis, it is written and spoken that this country, the United States of America, has the best health care in the world. For many that "best" health care is untouchable. For the health systems that are for profit entities, many patients cannot enter those doors without first having some type of coverage. For instance, a woman who wanted a specific surgeon to perform her mastectomy was required to bring one-thousand dollars to the hospital before she was allowed to have her breast removed. The surgeon was going to perform the surgery in a for-profit hospital. The hospital admission personnel minced no words when they told her if she didn't have the money, the surgery would not be done. Another patient facing bladder surgery to remove the cancer that was growing inside her bladder was told she would need twenty-five hundred dollars before she could have that surgery. Neither of these two ladies had the means to provide the hospital with these sums of money. It wasn't until phone calls were made to the CEO of the hospital explaining the life or death situation they were in was it determined that they could bring less. For the mastectomy patient, one hundred dollars; and the bladder cancer patient, two hundred fifty dollars. These two scenarios play out all over the country and most people have no knowledge how to even navigate the system. For many they have few options. They either borrow the money from family or friends or charge it to their credit cards, not the best idea. But when you are facing death in the face, charging may well be the ONLY option and if not, then there is a resignation that death is really the only option. Other countries provide all of their citizens with health care access and do it quite well. Their citizens are well and live without fear of suffering a catastrophic event. Wellness and prevention become the center of that country's health system, whereas in America, we still continue to focus on the illness rather than the wellness of our citizens. The number of dollars that could be saved simply by allowing everyone access would be immense. For many patients who know that they may be heading toward a lifelong and possibly a lethal chronic disease such as diabetes, hypertension, and COPD access to healthcare could provide the patient with the incentive to begin to pay attention their lifestyle. Quitting smoking earlier has proven to stave off the effects of COPD; better nutrition has led to a decrease in borderline diabetics; and decreasing sodium in a diet can only improve a patient's blood pressure numbers. The view from a free medical clinic is not only eye-opening but is also agonizing. As a medical professional to stand and watch as patient's unfold their stories of why they haven't had

'lau medical care in months and years, is heart wrenching. For free clinics across the country, people every day tell their stories. Lack of access is one of the largest travesties this country faces everyday. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a compromise from those who are in power. Keeping their constituents alive and well takes a back seat to many other non-essential things. The statement that we should be provided "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" becomes softer and softer, as more and more people die. Folks who work in the trenches, dishwashers, laborers, waitresses, truck drivers, etc. are in my estimation expendable. Corporations have no responsibility to the same people who make their corporations thrive. For many corporations to offer all of their employees with health insurance truly cuts into their sacred profit margins. Several companies use the "part time" label to not have to provide their workers with health insurance, although many of those same workers work almost "full time". The corporations provide the hours but for some it is only one hour difference between being "full time" and "part time". At a time when this country is plagued by unemployment and for many of those unemployed it is not just a seasonal layoff but rather a permanent one meaning it lingers on for a year or more, COBRA is not within their reach either. Food and shelter needs trump health insurance. We have been involved in a war that has stretched on for more years than needed. As we send our troops into the battlefield

years than needed. As we send our troops into the battlefield we can be rest assured some will lose their lives. And the lives lost fighting the war can be termed senseless. But when average Americans living in this country and face the fact that they have no opportunity to have access to health care, it is not only senseless but a large human tragedy. The stories found here are of folks who died needlessly. As I think atX)ut many of them every day and many more like them across the country, I keep asking myself, how have we lost our love and compassion for those around us? How is that we sleep at night knowing that in our country there are average human beings who have families and who love a part of a family, doing what families do and yet we don't offer them access to care? Everyday as we wake up in this country there is a woman who finds a breast lump and cannot get help and the man who knows yet denies that he has chest We allow that to happen. Amazingly the very same who continue to grouse and fight about access for all, they and their families have no problem getting care. They can go to the doctor for a hang nail or an ingrown toenail while the people who pay for their healthcare can in the process of losing their foot because the didn't take care of the in rown toenail or losin

because they didn't take care of the ingrown toenail or losing their finger because that hang nail was really something else. None of us can ever assume that we may not walk in the of those who cannot access healthcare—losing your job or watching as your company strips away the health benefits because the premium rates have jumped another ten to fifteen percent and the company coffers are teetering on the edge are all that it may take to join the ranks of the uninsured. The patients' names have been omitted and letters represent them. Their stories are not exact in order to protect the patients' privacy. However, no matter where you turn in America, I am convinced there may many patients with the same case scenarios. This is coincidental. Death is not an option nor should it ever be. Not one person should have to die in this country because they lack the means to access health care. Not one.

This journey began with no health insurance and fear sprinkled with hope. "EE" did not have health insurance because she wasn't offered it by her employer and she couldn't purchase it on her own since she had pre-existing conditions, obesity and high cholesterol, she could not get Medicaid while she was working, as she made fifty dollars too much. Ironically, it was Medicaid which paid for all of her medical care. Possibly if she were given the omxn•tunity to have had health insurance the severity of her cancer would have not as great. "EE" died fourteen months after her diagnosis, surrounded by her family—siblings, children and grandchildren.