THE DARK SIDE OF AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM

I think the U.S. is alone among developed countries in medical care for the poorest:

Millions of Poor Are Left Uncovered by Health Law

By SABRINA TAVERNISE and ROBERT GEBELOFF
Published: October 2, 2013
NY Times

Willie Charles Carter, an unemployed 53-year-old whose most recent job was as a maintenance worker at a public school, has had problems with his leg since surgery last year.

His income is below Mississippi’s ceiling for Medicaid — which is about $3,000 a year — but he has no dependent children, so he does not qualify. And his income is too low to make him eligible for subsidies on the federal health exchange. 

“You got to be almost dead before you can get Medicaid in Mississippi,” he said.