I have recently watched the healthcare debate swarm into a frenzy of near violent confrontations at Town Hall Meetings across the nation and have become increasing perplexed by what is transpiring around our great nation and have come to think it time to put something on this page.  As my website says, I concentrate my practice in the field of workers' compensation law where I fight employers and insurance companies and try to get my clients benefits they may be entitled to under NC Law.
I am proud and honored to do this work and care deeply for every one of my clients. 

the following is a fact pattern that is typical of what I see on a day to day basis in my practice (this is not based on any real client of mine):

Ms. X is 32 years old, single mother of 2, 10th grade education living in Eastern NC working for Employer Y; she's worked there for 10 years and with good work, solid attendance and time on the job she's been able to increase her wages to $13.00 an hour. This is enough to pay the rent and bills and keep her kids fed and clothed. The plant she works at does not offer health care or if they did, she'd have to pay half, which she cannot afford. One day, Ms. X is on the floor at her job, bends down to lift a heavy box and she feels her back pop and experiences serious pain in her low back.

She reports the injury to her supervisor who takes her to the plant nurse. Nurse says, it's just a sprain, take some Advil and go back to work. Ms. X does so and guts it out for another week or so, continuing to seek help from the plant nurse who tells her the same thing over and over. Finally, after continuing to complain, she's sent to an urgent care and Comp. pays for this visit. She goes 2 or 3 more times and the Workers' Comp carrier continues to pay and the Dr. continues to note an injury at work and continued pain and weakness and thinks she has a problem with a disc. Eventually, the Urgent Care doc says Ms. X needs an MRI and a visit with an orthopaedist. He restricts Ms. X to light duty work with lifting, bending restrictions and notes that she needs to take a break every 15 minutes.

Soon after the recommendation for the MRI, the carrier denies Ms. X's claim for benefits for whatever reason and refuses to provide any more medical care for her.   The employer says they cannot accomodate the restrictions and Ms X goes out on FMLA, only to be terminated at the end of that period. An MRI will cost $2,000.00 and an ortho wants $500.00 for a consult.  No way she can afford this. She tries to get Medicaid but they look at earnings and she made too much when she was working to qualify for benefits. Ms. X is injured, in constant pain, out of a job and has no source of income. She does not have health insurance, cannot qualify for medicaid and is in desperate need for medical care. All Ms. X wants is to get better, get back to work and provide for her family.

How is it that we can say people like this (who I see every single day) do not have a right to get the care they need, do not have the right to get the diagnostic testing and access to a proper medical provider? I fully understand and appreciate the fact that we cannot make a perfect system and we do not live in nor can we create a utopian society, but certainly, we can do better than the system we have now...it's time to stand up, fight through the muckraking, fog, vitriolic hate and spew being propogated by the TV and radio "analysits" and stand up, side by side, regardless of party affiliation to do something right for those in need. If we continue down the insanely divisive path we are on as a nation, God help us all.