Man Dies From Toothache, Couldn't Afford Meds

"He [Willis] might as well have been living in 1927..."

"Young people need access...I think the government should come up with a public option." Dr. Jorge Rodriguez
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Man Dies From Toothache, Couldn't Afford Meds
By CARRIE GANN
ABC News Medical Unit
Sept. 2, 2011

A 24-year-old Cincinnati father died from a tooth infection this week because he couldn't afford his medication, offering a sobering reminder of the importance of oral health and the number of people without access to dental or health care.

According to NBC affiliate WLWT, Kyle Willis' wisdom tooth started hurting two weeks ago. When dentists told him it needed to be pulled, he decided to forgo the procedure, because he was unemployed and had no health insurance.

When his face started swelling and his head began to ache, Willis went to the emergency room, where he received prescriptions for antibiotics and pain medications. Willis couldn't afford both, so he chose the pain medications.

The tooth infection spread, causing his brain to swell. He died Tuesday.

Calls to Willis' family were not immediately returned. University Hospital in Cincinnati, where Willis was admitted, did not comment, citing federal privacy laws.

"People don't realize that dental disease can cause serious illness," said Dr. Irvin Silverstein, a dentist at the University of California at San Diego. "The problems are not just cosmetic. Many people die from dental disease."

Willis' story is not unique. In 2007, 12-year-old Deamonte Driver also died when a tooth infection spread to his brain. The Maryland boy underwent two operations and six weeks of hospital care, totaling $250,000. Doctors said a routine $80 tooth extraction could have saved his life. His family was uninsured and had recently lost its Medicaid benefits, keeping Deamonte from having dental surgery.
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"When people are unemployed or don't have insurance, where do they go? What do they do?" Silverstein said. "People end up dying, and these are the most treatable, preventable diseases in the world."

Getting access to dental care is particularly tough for low-income adults and children, and it's getting tougher as the economy worsens. In April, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that 33 percent of people surveyed skipped dental care or dental checkups because they couldn't afford them. A 2003 report by the U.S. Surgeon General found that 108 million Americans had no dental insurance, nearly 2.5 times the number who had no health insurance.

Trips to the dentist aren't the only expenses hard-up Americans are skipping. An August report by the Commonwealth Fund found that 72 percent of people who lost their health insurance when they lost their jobs said they skipped needed health care or did not fill prescriptions because of cost.

"People want to believe there's a safety net that catches all of these people, and there isn't," said Dr. Glenn Stream, president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He noted that it is often young men who are the most likely to lack health coverage.

Dr. Jim Jirjis, director of general internal medicine at Vanderbilt University, said people, like Willis, without access to care often die of conditions that were much more common decades ago.

"He [Willis] might as well have been living in 1927," Jirjis said. "All of the advances we've made in medicine today and are proud of, for people who don't have coverage, you might as well never have developed those."...

Brian Billbray spreads false allegations about Obama's health reform

Fact Check: Doctor Approval Needed for NyQuil?
Voice of San Diego
January 5, 2011
by Keegan Kyle

"Another example of unintended, and somewhat ridiculous, consequences in PPACA (the health care reform act) can be found in a provision that requires individuals to obtain a doctor's prescription before using their own money to purchase over-the-counter medications like aspirin or NyQuil," U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., wrote in an op-ed published by the Union-Tribune on Dec. 17.

Determination: False

Analysis: Part of the landmark health care legislation passed by Congress last year changed how millions of people can receive discounted medical supplies. In the editorial, Bilbray derided the change as another example of failed legislation and advocated for an overhaul.

But his example isn't accurate.

Some employer-provided health care plans, such as flexible spending accounts or health savings accounts, provide a tax break and reimburse recipients for the cost of their medical supplies, which may include over-the-counter medication like aspirin or NyQuil. Under the new legislation, those people must first get a prescription for over-the-counter medication in order to get the tax break and reimbursement. Without a prescription, they can't benefit from their health care plan's discounted price.

However, contrary to Bilbray's statement, the legislation doesn't stop people from buying over-the-counter medication without a prescription. They'll just have to pay the full retail price and any accompanying taxes...