To the Editor:
I am writing in response to your July 29 article, “Medicaid shortfall follows decade-long growth in state spending” (written by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project, July 28). I am an emergency physician in Lane County. I am obligated under federal EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act) laws to treat everyone who checks in, regardless of ability to pay.
After reading your article, I think you missed the point. Seventy-one percent of Medicaid/OHP recipients are working. Over 40% are children. Without adequate coverage, families risk financial hardship or bankruptcy for seeking emergency care.
The expansion of OHP has been paramount in helping to dismantle inequity related to health care. Those inequities will become greater with the expansion of House Resolution 1 (HR1) unless Oregon is proactive in addressing them.
Most of my patients rely on chronic medications and preventive care. Imagine what will happen when people can no longer afford a doctor’s visit or medication. They may ignore symptoms because they fear the cost, waiting until the problem becomes unbearable, severe and life-threatening. I’ve seen the results of delayed care. Chest pain becomes a life-threatening heart attack. Abdominal pain progresses to emergency surgery for a perforated bowel. A simple foot wound results in an amputation.
This is the looming problem that will affect children and adults if coverage is reduced. Further, these emergent cases are often treated in the emergency department, where EMTALA laws require treatment for all, at a total cost to society that often exceeds what we would incur by providing regular routine care.
In Oregon, everyone should have access to health coverage. I believe access to health care is a basic right, and Medicaid and OHP are vital to achieving this goal. The federal HR1 Medicaid cuts will challenge our ability, as Oregonians, to ensure that everyone has access to this fundamental right. We must recognize the real-world consequences of these cuts and act proactively to protect the health of our families, neighbors and communities.
Dr. Bianca Jacobs,
emergency physician,
Springfield