Post by Logan on Apr 19, 2016 8:52:07 GMT -6
In need of brain surgery, Idaho woman can’t get insurance or Medicaid
Brittany Long had trouble swallowing when she woke up one day in July 2014. She had a headache — a sharp pain that turned into a throb from the base of her skull down her neck.
Thinking she was having an allergic reaction, Long took an antihistamine. Instead of relief, she just had more trouble swallowing. She rushed to the emergency room at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls, fearful that her throat was closing. She was given more antihistamines.
“That was the first trip,” she said.
Since then, the 25-year-old Twin Falls woman has lost count of how many times she has gone to the emergency room. She went once or twice per week for about a year. Her mix of symptoms confounded doctors.
A recently divorced mother of three young children, Long is one of about 78,000 Idahoans in what is known as the Medicaid gap. She cannot afford health insurance but does not qualify for Medicaid.
Read more here: www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article72308502.html
Brittany Long had trouble swallowing when she woke up one day in July 2014. She had a headache — a sharp pain that turned into a throb from the base of her skull down her neck.
Thinking she was having an allergic reaction, Long took an antihistamine. Instead of relief, she just had more trouble swallowing. She rushed to the emergency room at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls, fearful that her throat was closing. She was given more antihistamines.
“That was the first trip,” she said.
Since then, the 25-year-old Twin Falls woman has lost count of how many times she has gone to the emergency room. She went once or twice per week for about a year. Her mix of symptoms confounded doctors.
A recently divorced mother of three young children, Long is one of about 78,000 Idahoans in what is known as the Medicaid gap. She cannot afford health insurance but does not qualify for Medicaid.
Read more here: www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article72308502.html