"Send 'em to County"
Monterey County - The Herald
Mar 21, 2003
Doctors lament Natividad woes
By Joe Livernois
Dr. Pedro Moreno is frustrated.
Among the hundreds of patients he sees as a family practice physician at Natividad Medical Center is a 35-year-old man diagnosed with diabetes two years ago.
But the patient can't afford the $50 monitor he needs to check his blood sugar. He can't even afford the $4 to buy the test strips to place in the monitor.
"I haven't been able to get him the care he needs," said Moreno. "I feel completely powerless."
Moreno and other doctors at Natividad Medical Center are hitting the streets to discuss the problems suffered by uninsured patients -- and the problems the rest of society encounters because of the health-care crisis.
Natividad Medical Center, the county-operated hospital in Salinas, provides much of the health care to many of the approximately 80,000 Monterey County residents who are uninsured and the thousands of others covered by the state Medi-Cal program.
Natividad itself is in serious financial trouble and is expected to end its fiscal year with a $13 million operating deficit. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on a proposal to close two clinics in Salinas affiliated with Natividad.
Moreno said the problems at Natividad are aggravated by the lack of insurance coverage. And he said the problems will only get worse for uninsured residents if the county is forced to shut down clinics or cut services at the county hospital.
The drain on Natividad is worsened because uninsured patients are flooding the hospital's emergency room because they can't afford to see regular physicians or specialists, (Dr. Marc) Tunzi said.
Moreno urged about 75 people at the Latino Network luncheon to lobby legislators to support national and state health-care reform proposals, including a single-payer insurance program now being consider by state Legislators.
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/local/5448148.htm
Comment: The threat to the safety-net infrastructure is greater than ever. We can no longer dismiss the growing numbers of uninsured because, "They can go to County."
Dr. Moreno clearly understands. The solution is comprehensive reform of health care funding through a single-payer insurance program.