That's one of the major, overlooked issues... even if there is access to *emergency* care, there is almost never access to preventive (much less maintenance) care.
This applies to all sectors of health care. I used to work at a hospital that provided substance abuse and mental health care for adolescents. The licence required them to set aside 4 beds for "indigenous" care... meaning, those without insurance or the financial wherewithal to pay through the nose out of pocket for it. Funny thing was that the kids who had good insurance were never "cured" until the day it ran out, no matter that most of the time their real issues had to do with the dysfunctional families that checked them in. At the same time, the "community benefit" beds rotated their patients out every 30 days at max.
The kids with insurance were back in 6 months later, when it was coverable again. It was an insurance mill masquerading as a health care facility. And this is the norm, not the exception.
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This applies to all sectors of health care. I used to work at a hospital that provided substance abuse and mental health care for adolescents. The licence required them to set aside 4 beds for "indigenous" care... meaning, those without insurance or the financial wherewithal to pay through the nose out of pocket for it. Funny thing was that the kids who had good insurance were never "cured" until the day it ran out, no matter that most of the time their real issues had to do with the dysfunctional families that checked them in. At the same time, the "community benefit" beds rotated their patients out every 30 days at max.
The kids with insurance were back in 6 months later, when it was coverable again. It was an insurance mill masquerading as a health care facility. And this is the norm, not the exception.