Here’s a healthcare horror story on a national level: 60 Minutes’ report on Remote Area Medical (RAM), which sets up emergency clinics in the world’s neediest areas. Recently, though, RAM set up its massive clinic, for a weekend, in an exhibit hall in Knoxville, Tenn. Founded to transport U.S. doctors to truly remote areas to provide medical service, RAM is now running weekend clinics in urban as well as rural U.S. areas.

As correspondent Scott Pelley reports, “Remote Area Medical sets up emergency clinics where the needs are greatest. But these days, that’s not the Amazon. This charity founded to help people who can’t reach medical care finds itself throwing America a lifeline.”

Patients, some of whom have to drive hours to reach the clinic sites, begin arriving in the middle of the night in order to make sure they get a number low enough to be seen that day. Those who have cars sit in them all night in the cold, running the motor just enough to take the chill off. Even gas approaching $4.00 a gallon is cheaper than the cost of medical services close to home.

The patients’ stories are heartbreaking, but, even more sadly, not surprising. The pain of an infected tooth, or glasses that are no longer strong enough to make out people’s faces, or it’s past time for a post-surgical checkup for cervical cancer (because the patient has 3 kids and her husband lost his job a few months ago). Ross Isaacs, one of the volunteer doctors, was asked who these patients are. “It’s the working poor … most with families, most not substance abusers and employed without adequate insurance.”

The clinics serve about 500 people each weekend day, the numbers are growing, and the clinic weekend documented in the piece had to turn away more than 400 people at the end of Sunday.

Stan Brock, the founder of RAM and originally a Brit, said he thought it really sad that the wealthiest nation in the world can’t take care of its own. When asked how RAM is funded, Brock explained, “We operate entirely on the generosity of the American people. I’d like to say that we had big corporate support in America but we don’t. So it’s the little checks from those people who send in the $5 and $10.”

Click on link to read entire article.

At the local supermarket, an elderly woman, easily in her mid to late 70’s is bundling groceries. An equally elderly man who obviously has great trouble walking is manning a register at a large chain home improvement center. A 75-year-old “retired” teacher with 35 years experience diagnosed with prostate cancer almost 10 years ago, is still at work in a local coffee shop making coffee and tending to the dining room, aka bussing.

A 4 year stroke survivor in her 70’s is still forced to work part time as an interpreter at a local historic museum, talking to the public for over six hours at a time. These, and thousands (?) of others, fall into a category we choose to call The Near Dead Working Poor, one of the shames of modern American society.

How has this come about? We are the “retired” teacher and museum interpreter. Irwin, a teacher for over 35 years, has a relatively small pension and Social Security. I receive Social Security also, but having been a homemaker who raised a family, that is a small amount with which I couldn’t survive if my husband predeceased me.

When we were younger, we figured our two children would be out of the house by the time we would be in our mid-40’s and life would be a snap — but we find we are still waiting for those Golden Years seen promoted in glossy AARP magazines and the like.

Although our income is fixed, the cost of living has zoomed out of sight. We do not own a home and our rent is almost half of our take home income let alone heating bills and gasoline costs that continue to rise daily. We find it necessary to work more and more just to stand still. Must we work until we die on the job?

Ironically, we often find we fall between the cracks earning too much to qualify for such things as elderly housing and other so-called benefits for the poor. Another interesting situation involves disability. Since my stroke I have extremely limited use of my right hand and leg and my speech is not what it used to be. Regardless, applying for disability I am not eligible because after the age of 65 you’re considered retired.

In short, we are probably better off than many of our age, but for many hundreds of thousand like us, those Golden Years are tarnished.