750,000: That was the estimated number of Marylanders without health insurance as the Affordable Care Act began to rollout. That number has dropped by about 148,000. As of mid-January, about 25,000 people had signed up for private insurance and about 123,000 had gotten Medicaid, the government coverage for certain low-income Americans. One of those people is 53-year-old Baltimorean, Hal Reinhardt. Matt Purdy talks with him about how he got treatment for his diabetes and bipolar disorder while uninsured.
Then, what does a health clinic for the uninsured like Shepherd’s Clinic in Baltimore change when the government is working to insure everyone? With Sheilah Kast to answer that question is Dr. Melissa Delong. She’s medical director at Shepherd’s Clinic, as well as medical director of a new clinic for the insured at Shepherd’s Clinic.
Produced by Matt Purdy.
“Our series ‘The Checkup: How Health Care Is Changing in Maryland’ is made possible by grants from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the Baltimore Association of Health Underwriters, and HealthCare Access Maryland.”