Where does one go without health insurance, when turned away by
hospitals, clinics, and doctors? In The People's Hospital, physician
Ricardo Nuila's stunning debut, we follow the lives of five uninsured
Houstonians as their struggle for survival leads them to a hospital
where insurance comes second to genuine care.
First, we meet Stephen, the restaurant franchise manager who signed up
for his company's lowest priced plan, only to find himself facing
insurmountable costs after a cancer diagnosis. Then Christian--a young
college student and retail worker who can't seem to get an accurate
diagnosis, let alone treatment, for his debilitating knee pain.
Geronimo, thirty-six years old, has liver failure, but his meager
disability check disqualifies him for Medicaid--and puts a life-saving
transplant just out of reach. Roxana, who's lived in the community
without a visa for more than two decades, suffers from complications
related to her cancer treatment. And finally, there's Ebonie, a young
mother whose high-risk pregnancy endangers her life. Whether due to
immigration status, income, or the vagaries of state Medicaid law, all
five are denied access to care. For all five, this exclusion could prove
life-threatening.
Each patient eventually lands at Ben Taub, the county hospital where Dr.
Nuila has worked for over a decade. Nuila delves with empathy into the
experiences of his patients, braiding their dramas into a singular
narrative that contradicts the established idea that the only way to
receive good healthcare is with good insurance. As readers follow the
movingly rendered twists and turns in each patient's story, it's
impossible to deny that our system is broken--and that Ben Taub's
innovative model, which emphasizes people over payments, could help
light the path forward.
