hvactec
VIP Member
NASHVILLE, Tennessee, USA, Jul 14, 2011 (IPS/ The Contributor) - While Americans are taking sides in the ongoing battle about the future of American healthcare, one underrepresented group is especially vulnerable to the change - or lack of change - that may be afoot: the homeless community.
Most people in the U.S. think that everybody living in poverty is eligible for Medicaid, but this is not the case. Poor adults who are disabled or are parents are most often eligible, but for adults who don't fall in these categories there may be no safety net available.
A non-disabled childless adult - even with ongoing, chronic health concerns - will likely not find relief and assistance through Medicaid. Mothers who have lost their children to foster care and adolescents who have outgrown the foster care system often also face a tight squeeze between the rock-and-a-hard-place that poverty and lack of healthcare represent. A nationwide study in 1996 found that only a quarter of America's homeless population was enrolled in Medicaid.
The issues of homelessness and healthcare are so interconnected that it's nearly impossible to consider the former without investigating the latter. Understanding the relationship between physical health, the cost of care and homelessness is in many ways a Rosetta Stone that clarifies the complex snarl of issues that surround homelessness. As soon as one takes the time to pull at the threads of how America's healthcare system affects the poor, an understanding about homelessness comes into drastic, dramatic relief.
The relationship between healthcare and homelessness is cyclical, severe, relentless and pervasive. Many people find their exit to a life on the street as a direct result of a health crisis. That desperate path is marked by the too-often tread footfalls that pass from untreated illness into disability and unemployment - which, of course, is a leading cause of homelessness.
full story U.S.: Homeless Fall Through Health Care Cracks - IPS ipsnews.net
Most people in the U.S. think that everybody living in poverty is eligible for Medicaid, but this is not the case. Poor adults who are disabled or are parents are most often eligible, but for adults who don't fall in these categories there may be no safety net available.
A non-disabled childless adult - even with ongoing, chronic health concerns - will likely not find relief and assistance through Medicaid. Mothers who have lost their children to foster care and adolescents who have outgrown the foster care system often also face a tight squeeze between the rock-and-a-hard-place that poverty and lack of healthcare represent. A nationwide study in 1996 found that only a quarter of America's homeless population was enrolled in Medicaid.
The issues of homelessness and healthcare are so interconnected that it's nearly impossible to consider the former without investigating the latter. Understanding the relationship between physical health, the cost of care and homelessness is in many ways a Rosetta Stone that clarifies the complex snarl of issues that surround homelessness. As soon as one takes the time to pull at the threads of how America's healthcare system affects the poor, an understanding about homelessness comes into drastic, dramatic relief.
The relationship between healthcare and homelessness is cyclical, severe, relentless and pervasive. Many people find their exit to a life on the street as a direct result of a health crisis. That desperate path is marked by the too-often tread footfalls that pass from untreated illness into disability and unemployment - which, of course, is a leading cause of homelessness.
full story U.S.: Homeless Fall Through Health Care Cracks - IPS ipsnews.net
