Without a safety net
Maryann Gutierrez worked at the same company for 20 years. When it went under in 2007, the Carpentersville woman hit the job market and was hired by an auto engineering business.
"Then I get myself laid off back in February," Gutierrez sighed.
(Andrew A. Nelles/For Sun-Times Media)
• About this series
• Related: Some local help
• Day 1: When illness strikes
• Day 2: What's the cost?
As the health care debate rages in Washington, we asked for your thoughts about this controversial issue. The response was overwhelming. Hundreds of you wrote, e-mailed or went online to share your feelings. This series addresses the issues you’re most passionate about.
• Sunday: When illness strikes
Even those with insurance aren’t protected from financial and emotional disaster.
• Monday: Don’t take my money
Many taxpayers don’t trust the government to fix the problem; nor do they want to bear the burden of those uninsured.
• Tuesday: Speaking of uninsured
Those who can’t afford health insurance want more options than disability or welfare.
• Wednesday: Fire the lawyers
Some are convinced tort reform could go far in fixing our health care woes.
• Thursday: Your suggestions
So how do you really feel? We look at more of your concerns.
There are some organizations and programs that can help the uninsured and underinsured in the Fox Valley. Here are some of them.
• The United Way of Elgin allocated 42.6 percent of its funds to health programs last year.
"Health care was the number-one concern when we did a needs assessment in partnership with the city of Elgin," said Diane O'Conner, director of community impact for the Elgin United Way.
The assessment was conducted throughout the community through surveys mailed out to individual households, community forums, focus groups with employers and employees, with nonprofits and their clients and statistical data for the city.
The United Way spread about $400,000 between seven health care providers last year. One of the largest recipients was the Greater Family Care Clinic.
• Christopher Scalzitti, owner and head pharmacist at The Medicine Stop on Summit Street in Elgin, said he has been referring his customers in need to the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
"It provides a way for our folks who are in dire straits right now — who are in between jobs or their income is really low — to get cheaper prescriptions," Scalzitti explained.
Participants using the 340B program receive some medications at cheaper rates because the federal government negotiates lower prices, Scalzitti said.
The pharmacist said he also has seen local doctors making an effort to prescribe lower-cost, but not lower-quality, medications.
"They will try to give the patient a prescription that is very similar, not a generic substitute but a medication that is generically available and get away from brand-name drugs that do not have generics at this time," Scalzitti said.
"The medical professionals have been very responsive to the need in this area," he observed.
• All Elgin-area residents are eligible to receive a FamilyWize® Drug Discount Card that entitles the carrier to discounts on many prescription medications.
"Just this year, from January through September, there were 2,819 claims for Kane County," said O'Conner of the United Way of Elgin. "The savings was $35,676 for families and individuals."
The FamilyWize Discount Cards are provided by the United Way in partnership with FamilyWize, a community service project that includes more than 53,000 participating local pharmacies that have agreed to accept prices for medications that are close to the prices made available to large insurance companies and employers.
Fox Valley residents can print a FamilyWize card off of the United
Way's Web site www.unitedwayelgin.org/advocate-health and use the card
to receive discounts on many prescription drugs.
As the recession plowed into 2009, Gutierrez's new employer cut back and she was cut out.
"I wasn't there quite long enough and they laid me off," she said, "Cutbacks — I was the low man on the totem pole."
Gutierrez has been without work since she lost her job and admits, at 62 years old, "It's hard to find something."
Although she misses working for social and financial reasons, the worst part about being laid off is losing her health insurance.
Gutierrez, like many Fox Valley residents whose jobs were laid waste in the recession, still uses health insurance provided through COBRA, but the cost is high.
COBRA, also known as the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, gives workers the right to temporarily keep the group health insurance benefits they would otherwise lose after a reduction in hours or job loss.
Currently, Gutierrez pays $233 a month for her COBRA insurance, but in December, the cost will jump to $695 a month and she can't afford that.
Job, coverage loss
Gutierrez may soon be a member of a growing national group — the uninsured.
There were 46.3 million uninsured Americans last year — 15.4 percent of the population, according to U.S. Census Bureau. That means if you put 20 average Americans in a room, three would have no health insurance.
Among white Americans, about 1 in 10 had no insurance last year. In the black population, it was about 1 in 5. And in the Hispanic community, a staggering 30 percent — nearly 1 in 3 — had no health insurance.
In the United States, a lion's share of insurance comes through employers, but rising unemployment has caused many to lose their health care coverage. Between 2007 and 2008, the number of people who got insurance through an employer dropped by 900,000, falling to 176.3 million.
During that same year, more than 1.8 million people joined the ranks of the unemployed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Locally, Elgin pharmacist Christopher Scalzitti has seen this trend first hand.
"I've probably seen about a 20 percent uptick," said Scalzitti, referring to the number of his customers who are uninsured. Scalzitti owns The Medicine Stop on Summit Street, an independent pharmacy.
Physicians at the Greater Elgin Family Care Clinic have noticed, too.
The clinic served 18,000 patients last year, 40 percent of whom were uninsured. This year, the clinic's president, Bob Tanner, reports the group practice is on track to serve 21,500 patients, and the same percentage has no insurance.
Tanner believes the increase in the uninsured has two primary causes — recession-induced layoffs and employers reducing their workers' hours.
"Many of the uninsured are the working poor," Tanner said. "These are people who have jobs but don't have health care through those jobs because it is too expensive, or their jobs don't offer it, or they are working part time and don't qualify."
In other cases, Tanner said, Fox Valley working poor may not be eligible for public insurance options like Medicaid because their income doesn't meet the requirements.
Help is out there
Although the need is staggering, there are a number of public programs and facilities in the Fox Valley available to help the uninsured, including the Greater Elgin Family Care Clinic.
"The first step is that we will see a patient regardless of their ability to pay," Tanner said. "While they are here, our staff will determine whether they are entitled to public benefits and help them to be enrolled. We will continue to provide care while that process is going on."
If patients do not qualify for All Kids state insurance, Medicaid, Medicare or other public programs, an income-adjusted fee is charged for services.
And if a patient can't pay?
"We don't send collectors." Tanner said.
This altruistic feat is accomplished through the support of state and federal grants and funding from the United Way of Elgin.
Meanwhile, Maryann Gutierrez says she isn't looking into public insurance.
"I do plan on looking for insurance next month," she said. "Healthcare Solutions called me and I'm supposed to call them back in November."
Staff writer Paul Dailing contributed to this story.
