美国国家公共电台 NPR--Americans are delaying needed health care because of inflation and housing costs

Americans are delaying needed health care because of inflation and housing costs

Transcript¹

A Gallup poll shows Americans are delaying medical care because of rising inflation and housing costs. In Florida, the difficult tradeoffs become clear at a health fair for the uninsured.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Many people facing higher food and housing costs are paying the bills by putting off critical medical care. WUSF's Stephanie Colombini reports from Florida's Gulf² Coast.

STEPHANIE COLOMBINI, BYLINE³: In the Newtown neighborhood of Sarasota, people were milling about in a parking lot where doctors had set up a health screenings event. Tracy Green joined a line outside a pink and white bus to get free mammograms.

TRACY GREEN: To see if I have cancer or any kind of things going on with my breasts.

COLOMBINI: Green says her breasts cause her severe back pain and says a doctor once recommended she get reduction surgery, but she can't afford it. The 54-year-old says her teeth are in bad shape, too, but they'll also have to wait. Green doesn't have health insurance. She also doesn't have a stable job and finds work as a day laborer⁴ when she can through a local temp office.

GREEN: I only make, like, 60, 70-some dollars a day. You know, that ain't making no money. And some days you go in, and they don't have work.

COLOMBINI: In another state, Green may have been able to get on Medicaid, but Florida is one of 11 that still haven't expanded the program to cover more working-age adults. With rent and other bills to pay, Green says her health is taking a back seat.

GREEN: I don't have money to go to the dentist, nothing. It's so expensive. Now, to get one extraction, one tooth pulled, it's, like, 200, 300-some dollars that you don't have. I don't know what to do. It's like fighting a losing battle right now.

COLOMBINI: Nearly 40% of Americans say they put off medical treatment last year due to cost, according to a Gallup poll published in January. It's a 12-point increase from the year before and the highest since Gallup started tracking the issue in 2001. The country experienced record-high inflation last year. And parts of Florida, like nearby Tampa, sometimes fared even worse.

LISA MERRITT: We see an increasing desperation.

COLOMBINI: Dr. Lisa Merritt helped organize this fair as head of the Multicultural⁵ Health Institute. Her nonprofit helps people access low-cost care and is based in Newtown. Many people here live below the poverty line, lack insurance and face other challenges.

MERRITT: It's very difficult for people to be concerned about abstract things like getting screenings, regular health maintenance when they're contending with the challenges of basic survival - food, shelter, transportation, often.

COLOMBINI: Longtime volunteer Bonnie Hardy⁶ says residents she works with have a lot of financial worries, but one thing tops the list.

BONNIE HARDY: Right now? A place to stay. Housing is horrible.

COLOMBINI: High housing costs have started to ease in recent months, but data shows rent in Sarasota has still gone up nearly 50% since the pandemic began in 2020. Hardy helps people find housing and connects them with programs that cover costs like utilities and security deposits. She says helping⁷ people stabilize⁸ their day-to-day lives can lead to better health.

HARDY: Because they are more comfortable now. They feel like, hey, the rent is paid. I can let my guards down. Maybe I can go get the medical attention I need.

COLOMBINI: Research shows putting off health care can lead to bigger problems. And in the recent Gallup poll, more than a quarter of respondents admitted they had delayed treatment for serious conditions.

UNIDENTIFIED VOLUNTEER: That's good.

CRYSTAL CLYBURN: It's high? Is it high?

COLOMBINI: At the health fair, a substitute teacher who doesn't have insurance was getting her blood pressure checked. She found out it was a little high but not enough to need medication.

CLYBURN: Yes. Got to take care of yourself.

COLOMBINI: She smiled with relief. If it had been worse, the health workers here say they'd try to help her find affordable⁹ treatment. But in a state like Florida and the economy the way it is, that's not always an option.

For NPR News, I'm Stephanie Colombini in Sarasota.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

5 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

6 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

9 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。