Polk County, Arkansas 9th Street Ministries will be closing its medical clinic mission April 24, 2014. It has been in place since 1998 offering free medical services to those who did not have Medicare, Medicaid or commercial insurance. The reason for its closure has nothing to do with finances or lack of support although I imagine it was difficult during the Great Recession to raise funding.
“‘Because people are qualifying for insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, our free medical clinic will not be needed anymore,’ Stacey Bowser RN, 9th Street Ministries Clinic Director, stated. ‘We’ve gone from seeing around 300 people a month on a regular basis, but as people were enrolling in Obamacare, the numbers we were seeing have dropped. We were down to 80 people that came through the medical clinic in February, all the way down to three people at the medical clinic in March. Our services won’t be needed anymore, and this will conclude our mission.’”
The clinic was offering medical assistance to first come first served the last Thursday of every month. You think it is difficult to get an appointment when you have insurance? Just imagine waiting a month at a time if you have a chronic illness?
But this closure can not be true, the numbers as cited by the Rand study and Charles Gaba are highly inaccurate according to some at Angry Bear disputing the numbers of who have signed up through he state and federal exchanges or through commercial companies.
Hat Tip: Crooks and Liars; Here’s The Best Obamacare Story Yet and The Menastar; 9th Street Ministries to conclude Medical Clinic mission