Despite health reform, many still need Helping Hands
By Meghan Frick, News-Topic, Lenoir, N.C. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The man handed over the
He told her he had gotten a job at a furniture factory. He'd be making only a little more than he made on unemployment, he told her, but he was happy to be working again.
Though he's now employed, the man Bunch spoke with is still a patient at Helping Hands. He didn't gain insurance through his new job, he wasn't eligible for
Since the ACA was implemented
"(Some) people in
The nonprofit's staff has tried to make that clear in recent fundraising pushes. And they'll direct many of the funds raised at the annual Pot of Gold fundraiser this Friday to maintaining and improving services for patients who still fall within that gap.
"There's really no difference today than there was before January," Bunch said. "Events like Pot of Gold are no less important than they ever were."
The idea behind Helping Hands is to fill the gap between
And that gap still exists, Bunch said.
The Affordable Care Act provides health insurance subsidies to help people whose income is in a range from the poverty level to 400 percent of the poverty level. But people whose income is below the poverty level were meant to be served by an expansion of federally funded
But
Since January, the clinic has seen "maybe 10" people apply for Helping Hands' services and find out, during enrollment, that they qualified for a discounted plan under the ACA.
And the rest? They still need Helping Hands, Bunch said.
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