Dr. Oz Puts a Face on the Uninsured

I saw this episode the other day. Dr Oz is really trying to help.



In today's episode of the Dr. Oz Show, Dr. Mehmet Oz puts a face on the uninsured. He traveled to Houston and, with the help of 700 volunteers and the National Association of Free Clinics, staged a free clinic that saw nearly 2,000 uninsured patients in a single day. People who had felt invisible were blown away to suddenly find themselves the focus of a well-organized health care initiative.

Founded in 1999, the National Association of Free Clinics is a wonderful resource that was a complete surprise to me. Nicole D. Lamoureux, its national director, told me NAFC is a member organization for the nation's 1,200 free health clinics, which come in all shapes and sizes and use different models and have a variety of funding streams. At their foundation are an astounding six million volunteers, including doctors, nurses, and administrative staff.

Free clinics saw four million patients in 2008 and are on track to see eight million this year -- even though funding and donations are down 20 percent. With little to no state or federal funding, they are financed by foundations, grants and donations. With the economic downturn, some retired volunteers have had to return to paid work, leaving clinics understaffed. There are no provisions in the health care reform bill regarding free clinics and they received no money from the stimulus package. Eighty-three percent of patients going to free clinics come from working households. Forty-four percent of free clinics operate on a budget of less than $100,000.



Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-jon-lapook/dr-oz-puts-a-face-on-the_b_322455.html

I am so freaking lucky. And yet, the hurt, the shame the human anguish on that show was too much for me sometimes. I was able to get up and walk away and shut it out for a few minutes to gather my emotions. Get them back in check. I was able to do that. Even that ability made me feel so lucky.

It was heartbreaking. I had taken the day off work that day. I rarely if ever watch daytime shows. My 13 yo was home and it opened up dialogue. I was raised in the UK and Austr. We talked about the differences, and what this means to people who get sick in those nations vs the US.

She is incredulous that ANYONE would chose to continue a program that promotes such a catastrohic health care system. "What is so wrong with these people that they don't want everyone to have what they have?". Boy that was a tough question to respond to without demolishing her pretty pink rosy glasses. I'm not quite ready to download my full frustration at the Reps.

But I have a sweet empathetic, caring child that hurts when others hurt. It's a good start on the road away from the Reps platform, and for that I am grateful!!

n/t