Trip Learning 10 - People Without Medical Insurance

During my trip I watched a TV and listened to podcasts about Obama Care.  There was much to do about the number of people that had signed up.  When I had returned the number was 8M.  Listening to my podcasts I learned that 5M of the 8M were people that had lost their insurance when their plans were found to not meet the new requirements of Obama Care.  So it was told that there were 3M that were newly insured that previously were not insured.  Of the 8M that signed up there was no report how many paid their premiums.  So, some number of the 8M were not insured.

Regardless of the number and information mentioned above being true or not, I met many people that were not insured and many that would not be insured under Obama Care.

The reason is mainly financial.  Some people that I met on my trip didn't have the income to live and pay for any insurance.  These people live on the fringe of society.  Food and a place to sleep is the only thing that matters to them.  You have to have sufficient income to buy the insurance and these people who live in vehicles do not show up on census reports.  They do not file taxes and get buy on what money they get and are happy.  They don't read newspapers or listen to the radio.  

So what do they do when they need medical help?  Veterans go to the veterans medical center for assistance if they live near one and can get there.  Nonveterans use free clinics.  

Together they do not feel there is even a need to get a job and make money to pay for medical insurance when they get what they need elsewhere.

One man I met was happy to spend his little money on 24 packs of beer and spends his time drinking.  When I asked him about his future he told me that he was hoping to just die.  He was far from having anything that would cause his death soon and when I pointed this out to him and asked what happens if you live and don't die, he had no answers.

These are people that do not look to tomorrow and only look at today. What was interesting is that they were all nice people.  They were generally happy with their exixtance, just above being homeless.  They all didn't see a need for more of anything. They are generally truthful, polite, caring, and respect others.  They just don't have health insurance.  

If they go to the hospital the hospital provides care to them and the hospital will never be paid.  We all pay for them in our rates to the hospital.  You can't get money from people that don't have it or ever will have it.  Since they don't have an address they can't be found if a bill was sent.

I don't see Obama Care addressing this segment of our society and I wonder how many of these people there are in the U.S.