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.
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..
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.
Nuila has worked for over a decade.
Each patient eventually lands at Ben Taub, the county hospital where Dr.
For all five, this exclusion could prove life-threatening.
Whether due to immigration status, income, or the vagaries of state Medicaid law, all five are denied access to care.
And finally, there\'s Ebonie, a young mother whose high-risk pregnancy endangers her life.
Roxana, who\'s lived in the community without a visa for more than two decades, suffers from complications related to her cancer treatment.
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.
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.
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.
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
