Clifford Thomas and his household misplaced 4 kin through the COVID-19 pandemic, together with his beloved mom, Beverly. A center faculty instructor, Beverly had struggled with continual well being issues all her life, and once they pressured her to go away her job attributable to incapacity, she was unable to afford common medical care. Her remaining request to her son was that he preserve the household wholesome.
However in Albany, Georgia, attaining that promise is a battle. Town is served by a single, dominant hospital system, Phoebe Putney Memorial. Its management of the market and Georgia’s strict limits on Medicaid have left practically one-third of individuals in Albany, one of many poorest cities within the state, uninsured.
Poor entry to high quality, inexpensive care has contributed to deep mistrust of the system. Residents like Thomas see Phoebe as extra of a barrier to good well being than a security web. He gave up on looking for medical insurance coverage or a physician who would look after him with out it.
Then, he started to get sick.
There are thousands and thousands like Thomas throughout the US and dozens of locations like Albany — locations with populations struggling excessive charges of continual however treatable situations, the place the dominant establishment is a hospital. ProPublica examines the nation’s well being care disaster in a five-part sequence known as “Sick in a Hospital City.” Learn or hearken to the total sequence right here. Watch this quick documentary for a close-up of 1 man’s effort to beat the obstacles to care.
