Insurance changes impact area residents
Wednesday, the nonpartisan
Under their calculations, an estimated 23 million people would lose coverage by 2018.
Area residents may see the impact of these decisions much sooner according to
"We were just having the discussion about the future of health care services in light of the news that
What Martin is referring to is an announcement from
According to the
Most of those individuals receive federal subsidies to purchase health insurance on the exchange.
"Our county continues to have a number of individuals who do not qualify for any assistance with purchasing health insurance because they do not make enough money," Martin said. "I do not know if most of the population understands that the majority of individuals who receive insurance through
"To qualify for
"This is unsustainable for our company," Wilson said. "We have a responsibility to our members and the greater community to remain stable and secure, and the uncertain direction of this market is a barrier to our continued participation"
According to Martin, public health care, such as the PCHC, has traditionally filled the gaps when other services are not available. This is why the PCHC started to offer the preventive services they provide.
"Before
"We try to respond to what the residents of our county need to keep them as healthy as possible and identify health issues when the problem is more easily treated," Martin added. "As I plan for the future services available through the Health Center, the uncertainty regarding the availability of health insurance makes the process challenging."
Martin pointed to the direct relationship between an individual's ability to access health care services and the early identification of serious health problems such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
"When people do not have access to medical care, they often wait until the problem is so severe it leads them to the emergency room, which is not a good place to receive primary care and is very expensive," Martin said. "When the problem is identified, there often is much more expensive care needed.
"In addition, people without health insurance pay the full price for care, not the discounted price those of us with insurance see on our bills," she added.
In a community health assessment six or seven years ago, Martin said the majority of individuals diagnosed with cancer in the community were classified as stage 3 or 4.
"There probably has not been enough time to see a real impact on the statistic," Martin said. "... It would be interesting to try and identify if that pattern improved with more people having access to insurance.
"We have seen a decrease in the number of individuals receiving preventive health services through the Health Center," Martin added. "Some of this change has been related to the establishment of
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