Summary
So it was only fitting that "Denied," 20 powerful black-and-white photographs documenting the lives of just a handful of the more than 44 million Americans who lack medical insurance, was displayed at the Capitol from September 17 to 24. The exhibit was part of a six-city Texas tour, beginning in El Paso, that was sponsored by the nonprofit coalition Health Care for All Texans. The work of photographer Ed Kashi and writer Julie Winokur, "Denied" is an effort to educate the public on the realities faced by families who live without health insurance, such as the Wessenbergs of Coppell, a suburb of Dallas. The Wessenbergs once earned more than $100,000 a year and lived with their two children in a 2,200-square-foot townhouse. Seemingly overnight their lives changed when Sheila was diagnosed with breast cancer and her husband Jim lost his high-paying computer-programming job. When Kashi and Winokur met the Wessenbergs, Sheila's cancer had spread to her brain, and Jim had taken a new job making $11 an hour. The family, who also have an autistic son, was no longer able to pay monthly insurance premiums of more than $800. Sheila had begun panhandling to pay for groceries and other necessities. Among the other photographs in "Denied" is a particularly striking image of Marcia Felts Wimberly. With her stylish blazer, silver pin, and jeweled earrings, Felts Wimberly looks like a poster child for prosperity and propriety as she recites the pledge of allegiance at a mayor's breakfast for community leaders. But as Winokur explains in the accompanying text, Felts Wimberly was photographed shortly after leaving her abusive husband. She had stayed in the marriage just to have health benefits to pay for a much-needed operation. Now, she is barely scraping by.
As Winokur and Kashi point out, the majority of uninsured Americans are neither poor by official standards nor unemployed. In fact, seven out of 10 uninsured Americans come from families in which at least one adult is working. "It's not a sexy subject," Kashi told the Observer. "But we have to bolt through the apathy." The photographs, he explained, "are a good way to get people to react... to get people's attention and empathy."The state bar began investigating the two attorneys in summer 2003. Its recently released report sides with [Rene Rodriguez] and [Jaime Capelo]'s version of events: There never was any kickback. Rodriguez, according to the state bar, was supposed to pay Capelo a $10,000 referral fee for a medical malpractice case. Instead Rodriguez's office mistakenly sent Capelo a check for $100,000. When Rodriguez realized the clerical error and asked for the money back, Capelo refused. According the state bar, an irate Rodriguez decided to get back at Capelo and force him to pay up. So he told one of Capelo's law partners that the $100,000 payment was actually a kickback. The plan backfired badly. While Capelo eventually returned the money, his law partners informed CITGO of the kickback allegations. CITGO then filed the affidavit. The charges went public and blew up from there.See the full content of this document
Extract
Gambling with Our Future
ART LESSONS In this world timing is everything-but place is right up there, too. And what better place to exhibit a collection of photographs called "Denied: the Crisis of America's Uninsured" than the Texas state capitol? After all, one out of every four Texans lacks medical insurance, the highest percentage of uninsured of any state. Moreover, Texas is home to that great humanitarian, former state GOP Chairwoman Susan Weddington, best-known for her Marie Antoinette impression during the 2003 budget debate. (Weddington suggested that fami...
See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
