The small crew of health care workers at Guadalupe Clinic in Wichita — aided by dozens more who volunteer there — sees nearly 2,000 people a year.
Every one of them is uninsured, and all visits are free.
Guadalupe can’t yet check patients for COVID-19. But emergency federal legislation might help the nonprofit roll out that service to the low-income neighborhoods it serves.
“Our patients live in small apartments, small houses,” where COVID-19 can spread quickly, executive director J.V. Johnston said. “So testing would be important for us.”
Stimulus funds promise to cover coronavirus testing and treatment for the uninsured.
Still, benefits for the 250,000 people without health insurance in Kansas remain unclear. Experts see potential loopholes in the new federal laws and policies that could risk leaving people on the hook for hundreds, even tens of thousands, of dollars for hospital stays.
And while the Trump administration says the offer to help will stop when funding runs out, it has yet to say how much money it’ll spend.
The confusion could keep many sick people from seeking care. At the same time, the uninsured often work essential jobs that don’t give them the luxury of hiding from the virus at home.
“This crisis is exposing big gaping holes in our health care system,” said Sabrina Corlette, a professor at the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms. “When we have a public health crisis like this … the last thing you want is someone to hesitate to get tested and treated.”
Help on the way
The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates coronavirus could put between 670,000 and 2 million uninsured people in the hospital nationwide.
The uninsured may face a higher risk of contracting the novel coronavirus because so many work face-to-face jobs, such as cashiering and housekeeping.
Two stimulus bills passed by Congress in March should benefit people without health coverage.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act gives states the option of covering COVID-19 testing for the uninsured through Medicaid. That would include both the lab work and the office visit for the patient.
But it wouldn’t help with coronavirus treatment, which can total daunting sums. Kaiser and the Peterson Center on Healthcare estimate inpatient bills for a serious case of COVID-19 could top $20,000 even when people do have job-based health plans that negotiate down the prices.
