Uncle Sam's Poor Care
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I was in for a big surprise when a few days ago I was talking with patients at the Free Clinic staged in Los Angeles' Sports Arena. People had been standing in line for hours, even camping outside the place overnight, to secure a seat in the dentists' chairs or get glasses. Even after ten years of living in the United States I can hardly comprehend this concept of health care for the poor. I grew up in Germany expecting nothing less than universal care. The surprise: a majority of patients trusted this system more than the new Affordable Care Act. Most had not even bothered to look into 'Obamacare'. Including Cornel who had two teeth knocked out playing basketball and came to the clinic to see a dentist.
The war veteran had bad experiences with government programs: "Me and Uncle Sam don't see eye to eye!" was his comment. Cornel was not alone. Most patients I talked to had stories to tell about long waits, tons of paperwork and an endless number of hoops to jump through in order to get information, appointments and services.
Cornel got bad news that day: the clinic was not equipped to make him the bridge he had been hoping for. He did get his teeth cleaned and two fillings though and a list of doctors in Los Angeles providing dental work at low cost. Even though Cornel was disappointed he will be back next time to get glasses.
Next to the dental seats on the basketball court was an info booth set up by Covered California providing assistance with enrolling in the new health care program. It was empty most of the time I looked. Assistants working there told me they were facing a lot of misinformation and animosity but were hopeful to guide patients in the right direction. For them that meant into coverage through the Affordable Care Act.
Cornel left the sports arena without even giving the booth a glance.
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