Medical clinics offer free, low-cost services : Winston Skinner
By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-08-27 10:41:09 | Word Count: 934
For people with medical problems -- but no insurance -- there are options nearby.
Jan Taylor, executive director of the Newnan-based Alliance for Children's Enrichment, said there are some clinics in the local area that offer care at little or low cost. Many use a sliding scale based on the patient's family income.
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"Unfortunately, there are no clinics in Coweta. However, there are several nearby," Taylor said.
"With the state of the economy, many people are losing their jobs along with their health care coverage," Taylor said. "There are low cost and free resources available for many individuals."
The availability of health care has been a topic across the nation, as congressmen have used their August break to talk about the Obama administration's proposal to overhaul the nation's health care/health insurance system. A forum on health care reform -- sponsored by the Southern Crescent Tea Party Patriots -- was held Monday night in Coweta County, and two of the panelists talked about the role of free clinics.
Dr. James T. Sandwich, M.D., a Fayette County dermatologist, told the group of about 300 at the Coweta County Fairgrounds he volunteers at a free clinic in Fayette County. He said many physicians do some volunteer clinic work, and others provide services without cost in their offices.
"We're happy to provide this service to them. Unfortunately, there are some limitations to that," Sandwich said.
"I would like to see more physicians donate their time," he said. Sandwich suggested incentives might encourage more doctors to get involved with free clinics. He said there also are needs for nurses and other medical professionals to donate their services -- as well as translators.
"We all want to see people do well. We don't want to see people suffer," Sandwich said.
Ron Bachman, senior fellow with the Center for Health Care Transformation, was also a panelist. Bachman serves on the board of directors of the Georgia Free Clinic Network.
The clinics "accept no government money whatsoever," Bachman said. Many of the clinics are faith-based efforts, he said. "There are 100 free clinics" in Georgia, he said.
Taylor spoke highly of the Georgia Free Clinic Network. The group's mission "is to provide a collaborative support system to foster growth and development of charitable clinics and improve access to quality health care for the medically under-served across the state," she said.
"Charitable clinics are the unseen fabric of the health care safety net in communities," Taylor said. She said the clinics can be particularly helpful in rural areas.
They also provide care to homeless individuals, the uninsured "and those with chronic and life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, hypertension and diabetes," Taylor said.
The Georgia Free Clinic Network connects non-profit medical and dental clinics across Georgia. According to the Georgia State Auditor, these clinics provide $200 million to $400 million of care.
Still, they only reach about 10 percent of the uninsured population, Taylor said. She said Georgia's uninsured population is estimated at 1.7 million uninsured.
Nationwide estimates of people without health insurance range from 15 million to 47 million.
Palmetto Health Council has clinics in Palmetto, Hogansville and Carrollton. The agency has also been funded for two clinics in Meriwether County.
PHC received a $1,069,096 federal grant to develop and operate two community health clinics to serve the uninsured and underinsured in Meriwether County. "This is great news for the people of Meriwether County, particularly those worried about access to high-quality health care because of high costs and the lack of insurance," U. S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland said.
Westmoreland said PHC "has a successful track record developing and operating community health centers." The agency will work with the Meriwether County Health Department to provide comprehensive primary care services out of the county's two facilities located in Greenville and Manchester.
Families USA, a national organization advocating for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans, has released statistics that show Georgians have been losing health insurance coverage at a rate of 1,590 per week.
Dave Lemmon, communications director for Families USA, estimated 248,160 Georgians will lose their health coverage between January 2008 and December 2010 because of rising costs.
"In that same period, the number of Americans without health coverage is expected to climb by an estimated 6.9 million," he said.
A new report, "The Clock Is Ticking: More Americans Losing Health Coverage," from Families USA, indicates the most important factor causing the loss of health coverage is the rising cost of health care premiums. Although the economic downturn is contributing to the problem, skyrocketing premiums -- up 119 percent from 1999-2008 -- continue to have the greatest impact on family and employer health care costs.
Lemmon said the Consumer Price Index, which tracks general inflation, rose by only 29.2 percent in the same period.
"Clearly, health care costs are out of control, and these costs are making health coverage increasingly unaffordable," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.
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