Politics & Government

Can Free Health Clinics Work in Obamacare's Place?

Some think that clinics like the one Christ Central Ministries opened can in the gaps for the uninsured.

A steady stream of patients walked by as Pastor Jimmy Jones described the past, present and future of projects like the Christ Central Medical Center, which an hour earlier celebrated a ribbon-cutting and a visit from Gov. Nikki Haley.

“Our goal is to have a clinic like this in all 46 counties in the state,” Jones said. “In the rural counties we want to have one in the county seat and set up transportation for people to get there without having to worry.”

If that sounds overly ambitious, consider that Jones’ Christ Central Ministries (CCM) already has 92 facilities across the state and have built partnerships to assist with transportation and break down whatever other barriers there are which prevent a person from receiving health care.

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In the Columbia area alone, CCM has facilities that total more than 500 beds, which routinely treat the homeless or destitute.

All told, there are 42 free clinics in South Carolina with varying degrees of accessibility.

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Several are located in the Charleston Tri-county area, including two in Summerville.

The Medical Outreach Clinic of Summerville is a ministry of St. Paul's Episcopal Church at 316 W. Carolina Ave. The clinic operates every Thursday at 5 p.m., and sees an average of 50 patients per week whose income falls in a range of 200 percent or less above the federal poverty level.

The state operates the Summerville Public Health Clinic at 500 North Main St. The clinic is open five days a week and offers a range of services

In Columbia, Christ Central Medical Center, located in the Harbison area at 108 Park Terrace Dr., provides basic medical, dental, foot and eye care, has a pharmacy, and offers triage services. It is staffed by volunteers and is 100 percent privately funded.

Stu Rodman, who chairs Christ Central’s board, said he expects the medical center’s annual services to total $4 million in healthcare and $1.5 million in medications. Rodman said that’s between 10 and 20 percent of what a for-profit venture could charge on the open market.

The goal of the clinic—and of any free clinic—is to have uninsured patients avoid using the emergency room as a place for primary care. A trip to the emergency room for something such as the flu can costs exponentially more than what it would at a doctor’s office.

And in an era when medical costs are soaring, providing free care is a cost that has become prohibitive for hospitals. Furthermore, under Obamacare, medical expenses will eventually be passed on to taxpayers. So, keeping routine treatments out of the emergency room is incentivized by the fact that all taxpayers will benefit.

In remarks after the ribbon-cutting, Haley echoed that sentiment, “This is an example of neighbors helping neighbors, of helping those who can’t help themselves. This is what true service is about.”

As a religious leader, Jones insists he is doing the Lord’s work and political considerations are simply a bi-product.

That said, Jones does not shy away from political discussions. He says he’s voted for candidates in both parties and is not afraid to call out the culture of corruption and self-interest that has kept South Carolina’s poor both uneducated and ill for decades.

But he also is quick to remind a visitor that he has been doing this sort of work long before Obamacare entered the lexicon. He understands the political pressures that Haley is under for having rejected the millions of dollars in Medicaid expansion that would come with Obamacare. He is well aware she will be mounting a re-election campaign in the coming months.

“I’ve worked with political leaders from across the spectrum and what matters to me is how they work with people, not how they work with policy,” Jones said. “This governor cares about people in need. I could not say that about governors that came before her.”

Jones then recounted a story where Haley visited a rural community and was confronted by a man who made no bones about his opinion of her politics. Haley, Jones said, was undaunted and has continued to try to lift up that area, and others like it where she would seem to have little chance of getting an electoral dividend.

Republican-led states such as New Mexico and Florida have relented and decided to accept Obamacare. The door has not completely closed on South Carolina, but Haley has given no indication she’ll change her mind. It’s clear the governor thinks places like Christ Central Medical Center can stave off continued calls for her to accept Obamacare’s funds.

“This is how we can do health care in South Carolina,” Haley told the media on Tuesday. “There’s no need for the federal government to get involved.”

Rozalynn Goodwin, Director of Policy Research for the South Carolina Hospital Association is not sure that Christ Central’s model can be replicated.

“Such clinics’ capacities are limited. A rural hospital administrator recently shared with me that the free medical clinic in their area is only open three hours a week,” Goodwin said. “Broader access through coverage could be achieved if South Carolina allows the 49 other states to help pay for 90 percent of the costs for our low income uninsured through Medicaid Expansion.”

Of all the free clinics in the Palmetto State, only eight are in the 17 counties that comprise the poverty-stricken area around I-95 known as the Corridor of Shame.

Sen. Brad Hutto (D-Orangeburg) lives in one of those counties.

"South Carolina is in the midst of a health care crisis. Over 800,000 citizens lack access to affordable health insurance, Hutto said. "One new free clinic is only a small step forward. South Carolinians need a Governor who will put aside Tea Party ideology and do what's right for the whole state."

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