Rich Man, Poor Man:
The Differences in Medical Treatment for Those with Insurance and Those Without
By Chelsea Adkins

In America, for those with health insurance medical treatment is generally very good. However, what about those without insurance?

I had the pleasure of interviewing Michelle Struck, 36, who is suffering from several medical conditions that require treatment. Some of these medical conditions are: Type 2 Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, and Hashimoto’s (an auto-immune disorder that attacks the thyroid). She suffers on a day-to-day basis with keeping her blood sugars in check and monitoring her Hashimoto’s.

When she had insurance, she was taken care of. She had the medications she needed and her doctor made sure she was taken care of. “My doctor took care of me,” she says, “all of my means were taken into account and I was very happy with the service.” She describes her life as relatively good during her time with insurance.

In December of ’06, Michelle was admitted for the first time with extremely high blood sugar. “I was scared, but I knew that I was going to be taken care of.” She was admitted within a three-hour time span and was given a private room. “It was really pleasant,” she says, “It was a positive stay. All of the staff made sure that I had what was needed.” Within a week’s time, she was released.

The year of ’07 was a rough year for Michelle. She was laid off in March and that is when she lost her insurance. Due to lack of insurance, in February of ‘08, Michelle went into the hospital again for high blood sugar. She had to wait six hours before being admitted into a semi-private room. She describes the treatment of the nursing staff as horrible. “[A nurse] told me that I needed to find a job because I was running up high medical bills. I was devastated.”

Soon after this incident, because of her health conditions, she had to resort to JPS Health Care, a non-profit organization that helps those without insurance. However, the wait was long. When she finally ended up seeing a doctor, she was treated much the same as in the other facility. “It took almost six months before I was given an appointment to see my doctor.” She explained that she was only allowed to speak with the doctor about three of her conditions in no more than fifteen minutes. “There was no bed side manner. I felt as if I had done something wrong by wanting my medical conditions taken care of.”

The necessary medications were expensive, but the doctor quickly informed her that he didn’t care about that because it wasn’t his problem. Once, she was yelled at for making a phone call to the complaints department. “I felt degraded. Doctors are supposed to care about how you feel.”

A friend of Michelle’s, Jennifer Graham, 36, who accompanied her on doctor visits said:
“Given the choice of JPS doctors and private practice doctors, I would prefer Michelle go to a doctor in private practice.”

JPS has recently received negative press concerning their treatment of patients. According to Pegasus News Wire, over 15% of those that go into the ER of JPS leave without seeing a doctor. Many state the long wait as the reason for leaving.

In 2005, the number of uninsured persons was more than 46.6 million adults and 8.3 million children according to Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. More and more people go about their lives without receiving the proper medical treatment that they require due to lack of insurance. Let us hope that the year of 2009 will bring better odds for the uninsured.



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