Stephan: If you live in a rural Red state and are typical, you have lousy healthcare options. People who live in Blue states and cities don’t really grasp how bad healthcare in rural Red state areas actually has become. As this story points out in rural Maine there is one primary care doc for every 1,300 residents, and one psychiatrist for every 14,000 people. Do you think you might have a problem getting an appointment?
I keep asking Republicans why they are opposed to universal birthright single-payer healthcare and the answer I get overwhelmingly, is that they don’t want their money to cover the costs of anyone with whom they do not agree. No Democrats. No Black people. No LGBTQI people. No Jews. The fact that this is complete crap doesn’t get through to them, no matter what facts you cite.
During pregnancy, this woman developed gestational diabetes. Now, her son is 1½ years old, and she continues getting care at Mabel Wadsworth Center in Bangor, Maine. Credit: Sofia Aldinio / The Washington Post
BANGOR, MAINE — All the reasons people in this rural region seek reproductive care — and the barriers they must overcome in accessing it — were on full display from the moment the first patient stepped into this clinic nestled amid towering evergreens.
There was the 32-year-old struggling to pay out of pocket for a medication abortion because her credit card wouldn’t go through. A first-time patient who was referred to the Mabel Wadsworth Center — more than an hour from home — because her provider wasn’t sure how best to treat her disabling premenstrual syndrome. Another woman who developed hypertension while pregnant arrived to have her blood pressure checked. And a couple was there for their first prenatal visit.
The nation is in a maternal mortality and morbidity crisis that grows year after […]
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