JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
In January, millions of Americans who use the Affordable Care Act to get their health insurance will face higher monthly premiums, and many say they just can’t afford it. The enhanced government support for those ACA plans is set to expire. But even if they choose to go without coverage, people still need care. Blake Farmer of member station WPLN in Nashville talked to one couple about why they’re dropping coverage even though they now have many more mouths to feed.
BLAKE FARMER, BYLINE: It’s eating time for Robert Sory’s menagerie in Thompson’s Station, Tennessee.
ROBERT SORY: Do you want a cracker, baby? Cricket’s blind. Like I said, a lot of our animals come to us with issues.
FARMER: Sory is trying to start an animal sanctuary. Cricket is an albino raccoon. There are also foxes, porcupines, emus, bobcats and some healthy goats.
(SOUNDBITE OF GOAT BLEATING)
FARMER: It’s clear that Sory puts the needs of his animals above his own. Both Sory and his wife Emily were laid off within days of each other. Emily Sory lost her administrative job, along with her insurance. Now, Robert is going to drop his insurance plan on the ACA marketplace. His share of the monthly premium has been zero. Next year, a bare bones bronze plan would cost him $70 a month.
R SORY: When you don’t have any income coming in, it doesn’t matter how cheap it is. You know what I mean? It’s not affordable.
EMILY SORY: It’s a horrible, horrible market right now.
R SORY: Yeah.
E SORY: Really tough.
R SORY: I went yesterday to pick up her three prescriptions for the first time without insurance, and it was $184. You know, to equate that to kind of how we think about it, you’re talking about 350 pounds of food for these animals.
FARMER: To keep kibble in the food bowls, the Sorys are prepping for an uninsured future. They met with their psychiatrist.
R SORY: We use the same doctor. He’s a really nice guy, and he was willing to work with us.
FARMER: They have to go every three months to keep their prescriptions current. They’ll pay $125 a visit.
R SORY: I’m not somebody who gets sick super often, thank God. And if I do, generally I go to an emergency room where they’re going to bill me later, and I can get on a plan. You know what I mean?
FARMER: Emily, though, is a little more prone to health issues. She already has substantial medical debt.
E SORY: So it’s just sitting there, and I’ve racked up money. And I know this, but I’ve had to go to the doctor.
FARMER: Like the Sorys, more than 4 million people are expected to drop their coverage starting in January. Hospitals and clinics are bracing for the influx of people without insurance, but they want patients to know what help is available because many don’t. Katina Beard leads the Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s one of the country’s 1,400 federally qualified health centers.
KATINA BEARD: We don’t have marketing dollars, and so you’re not going to see big billboards or radio ads.
FARMER: FQHCs don’t usually offer free care, Beard says, but it’s either a nominal fee or a sliding scale.
BEARD: And so it’s likely that they will receive a bill, but the bill will be based on their ability to pay.
FARMER: Many FQHCs also have their own pharmacies, and some offer medications for free. Many hospital pharmacies also partner with the nonprofit Dispensary of Hope. It distributes medication donated by pharmaceutical companies. Its pharmacy partners must make the medicine available free of charge to people without insurance. Scott Cornwell is the CEO.
SCOTT CORNWELL: What we source are primary care chronic maintenance medications.
FARMER: Like for blood pressure, diabetes and mental health. Cornwell says demand will outstrip supply.
CORNWELL: We’re projecting and engaging with our manufacturers and asking them, are you willing to help support for this future status that we are anticipating?
FARMER: No matter what, hospitals will have to find a way to care for more patients who can’t pay. At the animal sanctuary, Emily Sory knows she might become part of the problem. She’s worked in health care staffing. Her mother is a nurse.
E SORY: I understand the system, and I get it’s people like me that don’t pay their bill that are why it suffers, and I feel bad.
FARMER: But she says there’s just no way she can pay.
For NPR News, I’m Blake Farmer in Nashville.
SUMMERS: This story comes from NPR’s partnership with WPLN and KFF Health News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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