Health Right director: Affordable Care Act won’t help some
By Ben Conley, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Health Right is a
"We don't expect a drop in need," Jones said when asked about affect the ACA would have on the number of people using the clinic.
"These subsidies are still going to leave people with a bill that isn't in their budget. Of course the worry is people will just opt out due to the cost."
Jones said Health Right sees about 2,000 patients each year, providing services such as free medication, free individual and family counseling, dental care through volunteer dentists, vision screenings, glasses for as little as
Jones said regardless of how many people they can get through the doors, the demand will always be there.
"The number is always on the rise. We're seeing as many as we can and we know there are more waiting to get in," Jones said, explaining that the shower room alone is used nearly 1,000 times a year.
"We have vaccines, family planning with free or reduced cost birth control, gynecological exams, breast and cervical cancer screenings and mammograms, which are free or reduced for patients who q u a l i f y, " Graham said, adding that free testing is also available for sexually transmitted diseases.
"Many of these programs are options that otherwise would represent cost for people," Graham said. "Hopefully if people are able to take advantage of them and prevent not only future expense, but more importantly health issues down the road."
When it comes to accessing medical care, dental visits are easily the fastest growing area of need according to Jones.
"There is a huge increase in the need for dental care," she said. "There is no full dental coverage through
The MCHD has a self-funded dental clinic, meaning it runs similar to a private practice. Patients without insurance who qualify can get reduced rates on a sliding scale -- up to 50 percent reduction for children and 20 percent for adults, according to Dr.
"Basically any discounts that we offer, we end up covering that cost," Carrier said, adding that an effort to get a federally funded clinic in
However, there is a federally funded health and dental option available in the area at the
According to Dr.
Federal initiatives allow the health center to offer even steeper discounts from time to time, Hilleary explained.
Items such as dentures are offered at cost and a nearby pharmacy provides medications.
Hilleary agreed that for people struggling to make ends meet, dental care often falls by the wayside until pain makes the issue impossible to put off.
"With
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