Insurance costs force area residents to go without
25 04 08 - 13:30
Many lacking coverage gamble against health risks
By ABBEY STIRGWOLT
Advocate Reporter
NEWARK -- When patients approach Jacqueline Jones with doubts about their ability to pay for medical treatment, she tells them to focus on their well-being -- not their wallets.
The medical oncologist and chief of staff at Licking Memorial Hospital said she often wonders how much better off some patients would have been had they set aside their fears about financing their treatment.
"I can only wonder what would have happened if we would have seen them earlier in the disease process," Jones said.
According to a recent study by Families USA, two people die each day in Ohio because they don't have health insurance. The study, released in March, estimated that at least 5,100 people between the ages of 25 and 64 in Ohio died between 2000 and 2006 because they did not have health insurance.
The study resonates with several area residents without insurance who have found themselves hanging on and hoping for the best when health problems arise.
"I've checked online for cheaper insurance," said Jackie Loudermilk, a mother in Thornville who said she struggles to pay for medication for her two children. "We just take it as we go. There's nothing else we can do."
Loudermilk said her husband's workplace offers insurance, but the monthly rate is too high for the family to afford by the time bills and house payments are accounted for.
Loudermilk said her family has had to forgo visits to the dentist and braces for her son because they simply can't afford the price tag.
"My kids can't get to the dentist because I can't afford an appointment for them, even for cleaning," she said.
Bev Howard, of Etna, found herself in a similar situation in December when her husband was laid off from his job, forfeiting their health insurance.
Howard, a diabetic, said insurance is a nagging concern for her because of the cost of bloodwork and insulin. Additionally, she said, some companies won't accept her because she is diabetic.
"I can't really afford to go to my doctor, and my prescriptions are unreal," Howard said. "My doctor wanted me to get a colonoscopy, which I can't do. I was supposed to go get (an) eye exam ... I had to cancel that temporarily. It's just things like that."
According to the Families USA study, an estimated 750 Ohio deaths could have been prevented in 2006 by insurance.
It's a problem that's also come to the attention of health professionals at Licking Memorial Hospital, who emphasize the importance of preventative care.
"The preventative care and the screenings are very important," said Rob Montagnese, president and CEO of Licking Memorial Health Systems.
Montagnese said Licking Memorial, as a not-for-profit hospital, offers many opportunities that other hospitals might not, including care regardless of ability to pay.
He said many families work hard to earn money but simply cannot afford to have an insurance plan.
"Sometimes the health insurance doesn't make it into the budget," he said. "Health insurance is expensive, and health care in general can be expensive."
Christine McGee, vice president of physician practices for Licking Memorial Health Systems, said physicians at LMH focus on long-term care of patients in order to prevent future problems and, hopefully, avoid medical emergencies further down the road.
"If you don't have that care in the long term, you're going to see people die," McGee said.
With that in mind, she said, LMH has established a number of programs to urge early screening and preventative care with the hope of helping patients avoid medical emergencies and finding themselves in tight financial situations.
"I do think there's a movement toward prevention," she said.
The hospital provides various programs geared toward a wide range of demographics in the community, varying from prenatal care to health screenings for middle-aged men.
In Jones' experience, outreach programs such as those are what makes her job easier.
She said she is working with a patient undergoing care for colon cancer who initially balked at treatment because of financial concerns.
"Finding out that you have cancer, that's a big blow to you," Jones said. "You can imagine being a mother and having to go through all of these and not having insurance."
Jones said she was able to encourage the woman to set aside financial concerns and focus instead on the route to good health.
"We were able to say, 'Let's get beyond that, because we have to take care of the cancer,'" she said.
Abbey Stirgwolt can be reached at (740) 328-8546 or astirgwol@newarkadvocate.com.