May 21, 2014

East Bay Express: Health Care for All?

media mention

By Momo Chang, May 21, 2014

On a recent Tuesday evening in Richmond, Marta waited to see a doctor. In recent months, she had developed a rash that covered her body, and her entire face had been swollen.

Marta, whom the Express agreed to not identify fully because she is an undocumented immigrant, was seeing a doctor at a free clinic for the uninsured that is open just once a week. Unlike most health-care facilities, this clinic is staffed by volunteer doctors, nurses, receptionists, and medical interpreters. Volunteers believe many of those seeking care at RotaCare Richmond Free Medical Clinic at Brighter Beginnings, one of a dozen volunteer-run clinics founded by Rotarians in the Bay Area, are undocumented like Marta, although they do not ask patients about their immigration status.

“Most of the patients we see are working, and most of them are in low-paying jobs,” said Dr. Pate Thomson, a medical director at the clinic and a retired cardiologist.

Undocumented Californians also paid about $2.7 billion in taxes, including property, sales, and income taxes, in 2010, according to the most recent annual estimate available from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “There’s this misconception that undocumented people are ‘takers’ — that they’re benefiting from public benefits but not contributing,” said Daniel Zingale, senior vice president of The California Endowment, which has embarked on a multimillion-dollar campaign — also named “Health for All” — to raise awareness about undocumented people and their inability to access health care.

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