http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100317/ap_on_he_me/us_health_care_ohio_womanClinic: Woman championed by Obama eligible for aidBy MEGHAN BARR, Associated Press Writer
CLEVELAND –
A woman championed as the Obama administration's emblem for health care reform does not have to choose between her home and her health, according to officials at the Ohio hospital where she is being treated.With a self-reported annual income of about $6,000, Natoma Canfield is a prime candidate for financial aid in the form of Medicaid — the federal health care program for low-income and disabled people — or charitable assistance.
And the Cleveland Clinic said it has no intention of putting out a lien on Canfield's house — or letting the billing process interfere with her treatment.
"It appears that
I think she'll be fine," said Lyman Sornberger, the hospital's executive director of patient financial services. "By nature of the fact that she was not early on rejected by either program, that's a key indicator
that she will most likely be eligible."
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BUT! buried in this shit story is this...However, Canfield's fears that she could lose her home — if, for example, the hospital tried to put a lien on it — are not necessarily unfounded, Sornberger said.
"There are other hospitals that will do that," he said. "There's nothing in the industry that says you can't do it. So she could go 5 miles to some other facility and find that they do have that practice in place."And Canfield pointed out that even if she does get financial aid, it could take weeks before that money kicks in. Despite the hospital's assurances, her original fears remain.
"The taxes still need to be paid," she said. "I have a home equity line that needs to be paid back every month."
As for critics who claim Canfield's experience has been overblown for use in partisan politics, she simply shrugged. The importance of health care reform, she said, is so much bigger than her own story.
"There's a million stories just like mine that need to be told," she said. "I'm going to fight like a tiger to keep a future. I want a future."