I applaud Dr. Ivankovich. The ability to help the unfortunate is one of the most gratifying aspects of medicine. Many patients pass by without a thank you and are forgotten but those that appreciate your efforts are fondly remembered.
I have worked in one of the less affluent suburbs of Washington DC for almost 40 years. I covered the ER every other night for the first 20 years of my career and operated about 100 nights per year. I knew that if I didn't operate immediately, I would not be able to readmit the uninsured patient
to electively treat their fractures or injuries.
I was fortunate that , other than time, it really didn't cost me a lot to take care of all comers. I worked in a community hospital that absorbed the cost of implants and recognized that the people being treated were their neighbors and someday might be insured patients.
More recently, my hospital was purchased by a "for profit" company with much more Draconian policies with regards to the uninsured. Stricter interpretations of what consists an emergency, means the uninsured get to my office and then I cannot find a facility willing to provide services to treat their problems. It is frustrating to essentially be helpless under these circumstances.
Reduction in reimbursement to physicians( I hate the term "provider") has also reduced the ability of many doctors to provide care since their margins are so tight now. I know the cost of health care has increased in the USA but physician reimbursement has declined. An individual doctor has had his or her ability to provide indigent care compromised
I did not work in a war zone like Dr. Ivankovich and did not have to deal with the concentrated violence that he faces daily but the smile of a mother was well worth the time of fixing her child's fractured elbow. Reimbursement with a "thank you" or occasionally a dozen Guinea hen eggs was worth it
