Martin in Harrisonville, Pennsylvania

Martin in Harrisonville, Pennsylvania
Originally uploaded by walk4healthcare

Martin has been out-of-work since last year. “Obviously I have no insurance,” he said. He has insulin-dependent diabetes and gets some healthcare through the Pennsylvania ACCESS card. He explained that, “If I go back to work, however, I’ll lose my medical care.”

“That's a disincentive to work,” I said.

“Sure is … I need to stay under twenty hours a week to get medical care. If I work more, there’s no job, no way I could pay for the healthcare and medicines. I can’t just drop the insulin.”

Gloria in Harrisonville, Pennsylvania

Gloria in Harrisonville, Pennsylvania
Originally uploaded by walk4healthcare

Gloria is the owner of Hollinshead grocery. She told me how the grocery, a family business, has been in Harrisonville for over a hundred years. Being self-employed, She hasn’t had health coverage for more than twenty years, ever since her husband’s company went out of business. “It’s just too expensive to get insurance being self-employed,” she told me.

Three years ago, her husband had a heart attack and died. She explained that paying for his care, even in the midst of grieving, was not easy. “A Harrisburg doctor accepted a ‘payment plan’,” and she also applied for Hill-Burton funds to pay for testing and other hospital costs. “Things were not easy,” she added, with a touch of melancholy.

Mike in Harrisonville, Pennsylvania

Mike in Harrisonville, Pennsylvania
Originally uploaded by walk4healthcare

Mike, a customer at Hollinshead’s Grocery, lost his job at Caterpillar in February and now is without insurance. “COBRA was much too expensive,” he said. His unemployment check was $325 a week and health coverage cost over $400 a month. His children, “fortunately,” he told me, are covered through the state (ACCESS program). He seemed calm as he explained this predicament.

“My wife just got diagnosed with Lyme disease, though—a tick-bite right here in our back yard.” Eyes perked up among the others sitting about the grocery. He told me, “We’re paying cash for the lab bill.” It had originally been $307 but they were able to get it discounted to $187. “The doctor's bill was $80—and that's just for the diagnosis,” he added. “For the actual treatment, we’re dependin’ on free samples.”