Obamacare in Kentucky: The luxury of seeing a doctor
Healthcare reform is President Obama's signature piece of domestic legislation, and also his most controversial, with strong political opposition and continuing legal challenges. But millions have signed up for "Obamacare" in its first year, gaining access to medical care they previously could not afford.
Liberty Sizemore leans back in her chair and beams. The 26-year-old filling station cashier has just been told her enrolment in Obamacare is complete. Now she can have her first routine doctor's appointment for seven years.
"I am so happy," says Sizemore as she waits at the Grace Community Health Centre in Clay County, Kentucky, "I've not had insurance since I turned 19." But Sizemore is also nervous. She is seriously overweight and was warned in her teens that she was likely to develop diabetes. Without health insurance she has not been able to afford tests or check-ups to see if she has indeed got the disease.
"I'll go to the hospital only in an emergency," says Sizemore, who is still paying off the $10,000 bill for removing her appendix two years ago. "That's what's on my credit card right now," she sighs, "hospital bills."
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28337867
