Donna at the Lighthouse shelter in Bucyrus, Ohio

Donna at the Lighthouse shelter in Bucyrus, Ohio
Originally uploaded by walk4healthcare

Donna is the director of the Lighthouse homeless shelter (where I had stayed, while in Bucyrus). It was a nice, clean place which, as she told me, “helps people when their most in need. The men here have gotta be clean of drugs, no criminal history, but they’re otherwise down-and-out.”

Her husband, 73 years old, is now on Medicare/SSI and had a complicated cardiac condition. He suffered a heart attack during a cath procedure and was taken by air ambulance to Columbus. He had a quadruple bypass and they ended up with $250,000 in medical bills. Medicare went to 80%. They lost all their retirement in the stock market and now survive only on Social Security. They are filing for bankruptcy. “The angel of the poor has, apparently, become poor herself because of our healthcare system.”

In terms of herself, Donna has no health insurance. She’s got atrial fibrillation (a heart rhythm abnormality) as well as diabetes and she pays for medicines out-of-pocket. But, thinking always of those less fortunate than her, she knows of many people all around who do without their medications because they can’t afford them.

Gary at Carolyn's Kitchen west of Bucyrus, Ohio

Gary at Carolyn's Kitchen west of Bucyrus, Ohio
Originally uploaded by walk4healthcare

Gary thinks we’re “way over-prescribed.” As he put it, “Too much medicines and pharmaceutical costs are skyrocketing.” He’s been a retiree for the past eleven years and initially his health coverage was good. But premiums have steadily increased over the years so that by now more than two-thirds of his retirement income goes towards health insurance. I asked Gary if I could take his picture, to which he replied, “Sure, why not? They can't punish me anymore.”

Reuben by the roadside east of Upper Sandusky, Ohio

Reuben by the roadside east of Upper Sandusky, Ohio
Originally uploaded by walk4healthcare

Reuben actually stopped by the roadside to walk with me. He told me the story of his nephew, who’s an Ob-Gyn doctor in Maryland. “His entire paycheck nearly all goes to malpractice insurance,” Reuben told me. “Insurance companies are trying to get everyone who can pay, even by coercion.” He told me he thinks it’s important to keep the profit mongering out of the health insurance business. “It's devastating,” he added. In terms of his own health insurance, as a child he survived Hodgkin’s disease but has recently been diagnosed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

“It’s a risk factor of childhood Hodgkin’s disease,” I told him.

“Yes, I know.” Though his insurance was “80/20,” as he put it, he did pretty well.

“That’s good,” I said as we took a rest by the roadside.