BRADENTON, FL -- Tia Jones is among the estimated 46 million people uninsured in the United States. But that wasn't always her story.
"I'm always used to working. I've been working since I was 14," Jones says.
But, the 24-year-old says her sister's cancer diagnosis forced her to leave her job and insurance benefits to move home and help.
"If you're sick you just have to deal with it especially if you don't know the type of help that's out there for you," she says.
But last year, Jones found that help here at a clinic in Manatee County. She was pregnant and in need of care through a very complicated pregnancy.
"We see a lot of people who can't afford insurance who had insurance," says Mickey Presha who runs the East Manatee Family Health Care Center,
The center has 20 locations across Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties.
Presha says in the past year and a half he's seen more and more people like Tia Jones using the clinic's services. He says they're people who had jobs and careers, who are now without insurance for the first time in their lives.
"There are some people who have had flourishing businesses who because of the economic downturn just couldn't sustain," Presha says.
Presha couldn't say exactly how many people fall into that category. But he says in 2009, of the people who walked in those doors, 15% percent of them were uninsured.
Regardless of insurance or ability to pay, the clinic doesn't turn anyone away. People pay on a sliding scale based on their income. Presha says his centers even offer care across a range of specialties including surgical, pediatrics, chiropractic, and OB/GYN.
"A lot of people allow their pride to get to them, you know, but you just have to put your pride to the side because there's always help out there," Jones says.
If you live in Manatee, Sarasota or DeSoto counties and want more information about this facility, call 866-GET-CARE.
In Hillsborough County call 813-307-8000 or click
here.
In Pinellas County call 727-824-8100 or click
here.
In Pasco County click
here.
