Mar. 23--Kymbrelli Thompson may have been gambling with her life.
The 34-year-old Rock Hill woman, who has a history of high blood pressure, went several years without taking medications or having regular checkups because she didn't have health insurance or qualify for Medicaid.
"I really didn't have a choice," said Thompson, who has a full-time job that doesn't offer medical insurance. "I had to pay rent, the car payment or take medicine."
Because untreated high blood pressure can result in organ damage or death, Thompson knew she was risking her health. At a recent health fair offered by her church, a nurse concerned about Thompson's elevated blood pressure referred her to North Central Family Medical Center.
"They could see me based on income," Thompson said about the center, a non-profit community health clinic with locations in Rock Hill and Chester. The practice treats patients with insurance, those on Medicaid and Medicare and offers income-based services to those without insurance.
Health officials say the number of people who don't have medical insurance is increasing, and it's getting harder to find the resources to provide them with care. Local health care providers say those without insurance often postpone seeking care until their condition becomes an emergency. Often people without insurance seek care in emergency rooms because up-front payment usually is not required.
The growing number of uninsured coincides with the high unemployment rate, which reached 12.8 percent in York County this month, said Ernest Brown, executive director of North Central Family Medicine. But he also said many without insurance work part-time or are employed with companies that do not offer insurance. And some opt out of insurance benefits because they cannot afford the premiums, Brown said.
Thirty-five percent of the 2,500 patients seen by North Central Family Medicine each month don't have health insurance, an increase of 10 percent from last year, Brown said.
The most recent study on the uninsured in York County in 2007 showed that 20 percent of York County residents don't have health care. But that number is increasing because of unemployment, said Bill Wolfe, board chairman of Palmetto Volunteers in Medicine, a free medical clinic providing care to those age 3 to 64 without medical insurance who meet income and residency requirements. The clinic also provides prescription assistance.
Since January, Wolfe said Palmetto Volunteers in Medicine has seen an increase in people applying for health care services who have lost their jobs. For many, this is the first time they have had to deal with no health insurance, because it's the first time they've been without a job, Wolfe said.
"Since the economy turned sour, it's a different group of people. In the past it was mostly service workers, waiters, waitresses or part-time people that didn't qualify for insurance," Wolfe said.
Demand for care also is up at the York County Family Resource Center free medical clinics, which provide medical care to uninsured York County children. The clinics usually see about 100 children a month, said community liaison Teresa Creech. In February, that number jumped to 160 children, she said.
Many people who have lost income and health benefits because of a job loss could be eligible for health care under Medicaid, said Jeff Stensland, a spokeman for the Department of Health and Human Services. But eligibility is determined not only by their income level but their assets, including home value and bank accounts. If they have money in the bank and equity in a house, they are not eligible, he said.
"A lot of folks are in the middle -- they are not poor enough to get Medicaid," Stensland said. "We are anticipating as people burn through their assets they will become eligible."
Stensland said there has not been a substantial increase in Medicaid applicants so far, but he said it's only a matter of time.
"We expect it to be soon," he said.
The increase in the uninsured has left some practices that provide care, like North Central Family Medicine, scrambling for funds to continue.
"We get one federal grant and it is very limited," said Brown, referring to funding the medical clinic receives to treat the uninsured. "It hasn't been enough for several years. We subsidize it with other money collected from services we offer."
Unless the center is able to raise money to treat the increased number of uninsured, it may have to suspend or limit indigent care, Brown said.
"We want to take care of them, but our resources are limited. We don't have the supplies and the staff to take care of these people," Brown said.
Next month, North Central Family Medical Center will have a fundraising event to raise money so the center can continue to provide health care to all of its uninsured patients. The goal is to raise $100,000, Brown said.
Recently Palmetto Volunteers in Medicine received a $40,000 donation from Good Folks of York County. The organization raised the money from its annual fundraising luncheon held in December.
Other area health care providers have come up with programs to help those without medical insurance.
To assist people without health insurance, Piedmont Medical Center has initiated a "compact with the uninsured," said president and CEO Charlie Miller.
Last year, the hospital's emergency room treated 59,000 people. Of those patients, 40 percent were uninsured, an increase of 6.1 percent from 2007.
The compact allows the hospital to charge a patient without insurance the same price that a large insurance company would be expected to pay, Miller said. Often, people paying out of pocket pay more than insurance companies, which can negotiate prices for procedures, labs and other services.
"You, as uninsured, don't have that negotiating power," Miller said. "You are the person who needs this most because you're paying out of pocket."
Riverview Medical Center treats about 180 patients a day and about 15 of those do not have medical insurance, and increase of 10 percent from last year, said medical director Robert Lesslie. Last fall, Riverview implemented a medical discount plan, Lesslie said. The plan offers discounts on office visits, labs and other services.
"We saw a real need months ago and that need has exploded," Lesslie said. "Over 300 people have signed up."
Because Thompson was referred to a medical resource that could help her without medical insurance, she now is receiving the medical checkups and prescriptions that she needs to control her blood pressure.
"It's been a blessing," Thompson said.
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