ACCESS TO INSURANCE

We will always be here as a medical home for those in need
NO MATTER WHAT

Today’s health care climate is increasingly uncertain. Many in our community live in fear of losing their insurance coverage. With potentially devastating cuts to Medicaid in the pipeline, thousands are at-risk of losing their coverage and their ability to see a doctor. The AltaMed Family (our doctors and staff, our community and our supporters like you) will fight to ensure our neighbors have continued access to doctors, medicine and preventative services, no matter what. Will you join us?

We will be there for the little boy who has an asthma attack at the park.

We will be there for the pregnant woman in need of prenatal care.

We will be there for the undocumented father who is too afraid to go to the hospital.

We will be there for the grandmother who has lost her eyesight and needs help getting to the doctor.

We are committed to supporting our patients and communities no matter what. To us, this means providing high-quality, culturally competent health care to all, regardless of income, race, status, pre-existing condition or insurance. We will never turn away a patient due to a lack of insurance or inability to pay because we believe every member of our community deserves access to medical services.

AltaMed will be there for every single one of our neighbors in need of medical care - no matter what.

MEET MARIO

Meet Mario, an uninsured patient faced with a life-threatening injury.

Mario

Mario had not seen a doctor in four years before coming to AltaMed because he did not have health insurance. After an initial doctor’s appointment, a patient care coordinator named Jeanette helped him apply for coverage under the Medi-Cal expansion program for low-income adults under 65. However, while his application was being processed, Mario was attacked.

Disaster Struck

One night, Mario was leaving work late when two men approached him and tried to steal his truck. He fought back and was stabbed twice in the chest with an ice pick. With his adrenaline running high, he didn’t even realize he was injured until he was driving home and experienced difficulty breathing. The ice pick had punctured his lung and come within just millimeters of his heart.

Medical Bills

Caring for Mario’s injuries required a five-day hospital stay, during which he saw several specialists and received the necessary tests and care to remove air and blood from his damaged lung. The hospital stay resulted in a medical bill over $62,000–which he could not afford to pay–and it didn’t include the regular follow-up care he required after leaving the hospital.

Sticky Situation

“We made several calls to the County and State to get his application approved and make the coverage retroactive so that it would cover the care he needed for his injuries,” Jeanette explains. “The State had received so many new applications that it just wasn’t prepared to process them all quickly. We would call and remind them to help our patients, like Mario, along in the process.”

Hope

Mario is eternally grateful for Jeanette and AltaMed’s help. “I was fortunate that Jeanette and AltaMed were there to support me after my injuries and get me through this process,” he says. “The doctors told me I was very lucky. If I had not been able to receive all of this care in the hospital and after at AltaMed, my injuries could have been a lot worse – I might have even died. I don’t know where I would be today without AltaMed.”

AltaMed: A Solution

Mario is in danger of losing his health insurance once again, however, because the complications from his injuries could be considered a preexisting condition under the proposed health care law. AltaMed has fought for Mario once, and when necessary we will do it again. With your support, AltaMed will continue to advocate for our patients and provide high-quality, culturally competent health care, no matter what. Your funds will help ensure that patients like Mario, or the little boy having an asthma attack at the park receive the medical services they require while being treated with the respect they deserve. We believe that every member of our community deserves access to health care, and we will continue to provide it, no matter what.

$45 will help increase the number of vaccinations for uninsured children, who would otherwise not be immunized. AltaMed has made significant strides in increasing access to care in our communities. Join our mission!

AltaMed Foundation
2040 Camfield Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90040
[email protected] | (323) 914-6101

All contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Our Tax ID number is: 95-2810095.
© 2019 AltaMed