> When the histories of the Great Recession are written, there should be a
> mention of Kathy Myers, the uninsured 41-year-old Michigan woman who got
> the bizarre idea to shoot herself in the hopes that the doctors who
> would treat her wound would also treat a torn rotator cuff that had been
> causing her agonizing pain for a month. The idea is absurd, but then
> again, so is the health care system.

> Myers, like the estimated 46 million or so people who lack health
> insurance, has options for treatment, but they aren't great. She could
> have gone to one of the doctors or clinics that work on sliding scales
> based on a patient's ability to pay. Or visited one of the many free
> mobile clinics that have popped up around the country as unemployment
> rates climbed higher. A hospital would have provided charity care for
> her, as they tend to do for people without insurance.

> "Many [uninsured patients] are able to find some level of care," says
> Cheryl Fish-Parcham, deputy director of health policy for Families USA,
> a non-profit advocating for patients' rights. But many of these patients
> need specialized services that they can't get access to. "This year we
> are getting more and more people calling us needing care ... that's why
> we are looking forward to health care reform."

> While President Obama's health care reform should make it easier for
> people like Myers to get coverage, many of the law's biggest provisions,
> including the establishment of state-run insurance markets, won't take
> effect until 2014. That leaves people like Myers in need of help. Her
> situation is not unique, particularly in Michigan, which has a 14.1%
> unemployment rate, the highest in the country. The state's hospitals are
> being crushed by the cost of providing services to the more than one
> million residents who don't have health coverage. Most of the uninsured
> are what is known in government jargon as "non-elderly" adults.
> Officials from Lakeland Community Hospital in Niles, the only hospital
> in the town where Myers lives, could not be reached.

> Where to turn when things get tough

> What healthy people don't realize is that medical bills quickly add up
> and are responsible for driving many otherwise solvent people into
> bankruptcy. Should you find yourself in this predicament, there are
> things you can do to alleviate some of the misery that comes from a lack
> of health insurance.

> The key is to be your own advocate. Health care programs are filled with
> loopholes and exceptions and it certainly does not hurt to see if you
> qualify for them. Take COBRA, the government's temporary health
> insurance program for the unemployed, which many see as a heartless
> bureaucracy. There are ways to get additional benefits. COBRA may extend
> coverage for you or your chronically ill spouse for up to 18 additional
> months if you pay the full cost of the premium, plus a small
> administrative fee.

> People with children should see if they qualify for the Children's
> Health Insurance Program, a federal-state partnership that provides
> insurance for families who are unable to afford private insurance and
> are not eligible for Medicaid. CHIP served more than 7.3 million
> children in fiscal year 2008, and an additional 4 million children who
> would otherwise be uninsured may be covered by 2013.

> Colleges also offer students low-cost insurance plans, as do many alumni
> associations and trade associations. Even freelancers such as writers
> can get access to plans.

> Also, keep in mind that medical bills are negotiable. Doctors and
> hospitals would rather get paid something than nothing. If you don't
> feel comfortable haggling with your doctor, there are services that will
> do this for you for a flat fee.

> Myers acted foolishly when she thought she had no other choice. The
> uninsured do have options, though none of them as good having private
> health care coverage. In the end, Myers' plan did not work. The doctors
> treated her bullet wound, gave anti-inflammatory medicine and sent her
> home. It's what they were required to do under the law. She seemed to
> have belatedly learned her lesson.

> "Pain will make you do, silly crazy things," she is quoted as saying. "I
> thought maybe they would fix me. I guess I should have shot a little
> lower."