But only by watching ABC's Good Morning America did one see a soundbite of program founder Stan Brock informing viewers that the free clinic does not even screen patients to learn if they really are in need financially. Brock:
It's first-come, first-served basis, no questions asked, no financial information required. There are a lot of good programs in this country, but they tend to have hurdles that the patient has to leap through in order to get the care.
Reporters seemed shocked that thousands of people would stand in line for hours to receive hundreds -- or even thousands -- of dollars worth of free medical care.
The NBC Nightly News has highlighted the free clinic twice this week. On Tuesday, anchor Brian Williams announced:
And now we have an illustration of just how big the problem of affordable health care has become in this country. A group of doctors who started out providing free medical services in Third World countries has also been working in this country, and they've been seeing more Americans ask for their help than ever before.
On Thursday, substitute anchor Ann Curry revisited the story: "On Tuesday, we reported on a group of doctors offering free care at a health fair. And since then, the demand for their services has become even more overwhelming."
After correspondent Miguel Almaguer informed viewers that the program was founded to serve the Third World but has increasingly been providing care in the United States, he showed a soundbite of program founder Brock comparing what he has seen treating patients in America to Guatemala. Brock: "There really is no difference. This could be Guatemala. There is no difference."
Without informing viewers that the charity does not require patients to demonstrate financial need to receive service, Almaguer assumed that those showing up have no other options other than free medical care, and passed on predictions that people would continue showing up for free service for a month if the facility operated that long:
For the lucky ones who were treated today, the hopeful ones who will return tomorrow, and the volunteers who treat them all, these days at the L.A. Forum are a stark illustration that for many Americans, free health care is the only health care they can afford. This massive mobile hospital will remain anchored here at the L.A. Forum until Tuesday. But organizers say if they were here all month it probably still would not meet the need of this city alone.
Good evening, everyone. Once again, we begin tonight with a battle over health care reform, but this time, we're not starting at a town meeting. Tonight, we're going to show you why many believe reform is desperately needed. These are just some of the tens of thousands of Americans who need health care but have no insurance or not enough of it, and they're lining up at a free makeshift clinic in Los Angeles, a short-term solution to a long-term problem. Bill Whitaker begins our coverage.
Like NBC's Almaguer, after relaying that the charity was founded to serve the Third World, CBS correspondent Bill Whitaker passed on one volunteer's comparison of America's health care challenges to those she has seen in such impoverishd countries. A soundbite of Dr. Natalie Nevins was shown: "Here at home, we have as much a need as I do when I travel to the most remote areas of India, and that's very heartbreaking."
And even though many of the 40+ million uninsured Americans can afford insurance but choose not to purchase it, Whitaker ran a soundbite of program founder Brock claiming that 49 million people are unable to afford health care. Brock: "There are about 49 million people that don't have access to the care they need. They simply can’t afford it."
Referring to angry protesters who are challenging the push for universal health care in town hall forums, Whitaker observed: "For doctors and patients here, the shouting over health care reform is incomprehensible."
CBS and ABC seemed to disagree on whether the people showing up were the uninsured, or people with insurance who still have trouble paying bills. CBS's Whitaker referred to patients as "Some 1,500 people a day, almost all working people who have insurance, but it's just not enough." But on Wednesday's Good Morning America, ABC anchor Robin Roberts suggested that participants are "uninsured." Roberts:
Now, we want to show you the faces behind the health care debate, uninsured Americans, more than 40 million in this country. Well, some of them are lining up this morning to get free medical care from a group of doctors and nurses who started out working in Third World countries and are now offering their services in Los Angeles...
It was during ABC correspondent Mike von Fremd's report that a soundbite was played of program founder Brock recounting that patients are not required to show financial need. Brock:
Below are complete transcripts of the relevant stories from the Tuesday, August 11, NBC Nightly News; the Wednesday, August 12, Good Morning America on ABC; the Thursday, August 13, CBS Evening News; and the Thursday, August 13, NBC Nightly News:
#From the Tuesday, August 11, NBC Nightly News:
BRIAN WILLIAMS: And now we have an illustration of just how big the problem of affordable health care has become in this country. A group of doctors who started out providing free medical services in Third World countries has also been working in this country, and they've been seeing more Americans ask for their help than ever before. NBC's Miguel Almaguer is with us from Los Angeles tonight with more on this. Miguel, good evening.
MIGUEL ALMAGUER: Good evening, Brian. A volunteer army of more than 800 people have been working the floors behind me since 4 a.m. They won't go home for several hours, and this is just day one. They streamed in by the hundreds, camping out overnight just for the chance to see a doctor. Many say they're hurting for health care. Some are literally in pain. Angel Rivera has a tooth problem. How desperate would you describe yourself to get some help?
ANGEL RIVERA: Desperate enough that I was going to take the damn thing out with a pair of pliers.
ALMAGUER: Well before dawn, just about every race and every age packed overflow bleachers. Only 1,500 can be seen today.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: They already ran out of numbers.
ALMAGUER: Hundreds were turned away. It's first come, first serve for free health care here.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: There's a lot of people in need.
STAN BROCK, REMOTE AREA MEDICAL: Who's got number 51?
ALMAGUER: Those with a ticket into the LA Forum found a sports complex turned mobile hospital. Daneen Powell has a temp job, but no insurance, and she hasn't seen a doctor in five years. She's never had a mammogram.
DANEEN POWELL: I could come here and get everything done at once.
ALMAGUER: Remote Area Medical, known as RAM, began working in developing countries back in 1985. Here at home, they focus on rural communities without medical services. But the need for free health care has become so dire in this country, for the first time ever RAM is making stops in major cities like Los Angeles. Stan Brock is the founder.
BROCK: The people that are coming to these events are simply those that don't have access or cannot afford the care they need.
ALMAGUER: But even for many of them free health care is the only health care they could afford.
Are you shocked by what you're seeing here?
DR. NATALIE NEVINS, REMOTE AREA MEDICAL: No. I mean, I wish I was shocked. I wish that nobody was here. But we know the need is here. And, if anything, it's just, it's heartbreaking.
ALMAGUER: Heartbreaking for doctors, but the reality for so many here. Twelve hours later, Daneen Powell still considers herself lucky.
POWELL: I'm grateful to be here today to get this done.
ALMAGUER: She has a job, and today she has her health care. Organizers here say the need is so great this operation will extend for another seven days. By the time it's over, Brian, more than 8,000 people will have received free health care.
WILLIAMS: Miguel Almaguer in Los Angeles tonight. Miguel, thanks.
#From the Wednesday, August 12, Good Morning America on ABC:
MIKE VON FREMD: Good morning, Robin. Desperate people have been waiting in this Los Angeles parking lot for a precious ticket. It's one that lets them enter a world where hundreds of doctors and volunteers stand ready to provide health care for free. All through the night, they drive here and then wait until the clock strikes 3:30 a.m. Very quickly, the 1,500 tickets are gone and the latecomers lose out. This mother and daughter drew numbers 48 and 49.
AYANA KLECKNER, PATIENT: This is a miracle, and, because if this wasn't here, we wouldn't be able to go to the doctor for who knows how long. It's already been a long time.
ELON KLECKNER, MOTHER: Children shouldn't have to be concerned about if their teeth are hurting, their eyes are hurting, you know? And if they have problems, you know, well, Mom, I can't really see the board or read my book.
VON FREMD: All that is about to change when the doors open at 5:30 a.m.
STAN BROCK, REMOTE AREA MEDICAL: We don't need to know anything about your personal history. We just need to know what your medical history might have been, so that we don't give somebody the wrong medicine. Who's got number one?
VON FREMD: Volunteers do everything they can to eliminate red tape so the patients in pain can get immediate care. This nurse was moved by what she saw.
FEMALE NURSE: My eyes are tearing up right now.
VON FREMD: The initial stop for Ayana is the dental complex, for her first teeth cleaning in years. The founder of Remote Area Medical has helped needy patients by bringing this assembly line of dentists, eye doctors and MDs across America to 12 states.
BROCK: It's first-come, first-served basis, no questions asked, no financial information required. There are a lot of good programs in this country, but they tend to have hurdles that the patient has to leap through in order to get the care.
VON FREMD: Brock gets his volunteer local army of doctors and nurses to agree to do what it takes to get the people in need of care the care they need, even if it requires follow-up visits, and even if the diagnosis is serious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE DOCTOR: People are really getting some important health care needs met.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: The impact they're making on people's lives is priceless.
VON FREMD: It's a blessing that continues through next Tuesday. In that time, the hope is that many thousands of people in Los Angeles will get the health care they need but cannot afford to pay for.
#From the Thursday, August 13, CBS Evening News:
KATIE COURIC, IN OPENING TEASER: Tonight, in the battle over health care, they are on the front lines – poor, under-insured, and in need of a doctor.
...
COURIC: Good evening, everyone. Once again, we begin tonight with a battle over health care reform, but this time, we're not starting at a town meeting. Tonight, we're going to show you why many believe reform is desperately needed. These are just some of the tens of thousands of Americans who need health care but have no insurance or not enough of it, and they're lining up at a free makeshift clinic in Los Angeles, a short-term solution to a long-term problem. Bill Whitaker begins our coverage.
LARRY DURST, PATIENT: Suffer, you know, go without.
WHITAKER: Kenya Smith needs a checkup for two-week-old Zoe. Her insurance doesn't cover it.
KENYA SMITH, MOTHER OF PATIENT: They wanted $1,500 for just to be seen by a doctor, plus co-payments, and that was kind of a lot of money, I thought.
WHITAKER: Anna Garcia got in line Tuesday for dental work.
ANNA GARCIA, MOTHER OF PATIENT: I have insurance through my employer.
WHITAKER: She works for Orange County, has five children, her husband out of work. The co-pay for three-year-old Aizza's root canal, $1,000.
GARCIA: I couldn't afford it, and I didn't want her to lose her teeth, so once I read about this program, I had to take advantage of it, even if it meant me losing a couple of days from work.
WHITAKER: This program is run by Remote Area Medical, a nonprofit group established 24 years ago to take modern medicine to the Third World. Today, they do some 40 multiday free clinics a year, 65 percent of them now in the U.S.
STAN BROCK, REMOTE AREA MEDICAL: The need is all over the United States, just like this, wherever you go. There are about 49 million people that don't have access to the care they need. They simply can’t afford it.
WHITAKER: Family physician Natalie Nevins has worked in villages in India and Africa.
DOCTOR NATALIE NEVINS, REMOTE AREA MEDICAL: Here at home, we have as much a need as I do when I travel to the most remote areas of India, and that's very heartbreaking. Most of these people work. They have jobs, but they work for small companies that can't afford to give them insurance.
WHITAKER: For doctors and patients here, the shouting over health care reform is incomprehensible.
GARCIA: Walk in my shoes. Try it a couple of weeks. You won't last.
WHITAKER: Sutina Green works for the city of Long Beach. She could be speaking for every patient here.
SUTINA GREEN, MOTHER OF PATIENT: I have five children, and I'm a single mother, so, for me, this was a blessing.
WHITAKER: Now, Katie, this has been going on all day. The doctors here are overwhelmed. They don't have enough volunteers to meet the need. Now, they expect to serve more than 1,000 people a day through Tuesday, and after they close down, they expect to send thousands more away unserved. Katie?
#From the Thursday, August 13, NBC Nightly News:
ANN CURRY: Also in California tonight, a vivid reminder of the need for affordable health care in this country. On Tuesday, we reported on a group of doctors offering free care at a health fair. And since then, the demand for their services has become even more overwhelming. NBC correspondent Miguel Almaguer is in Los Angeles now with more on this. Miguel?
SUTINA GREEN, MOTHER OF PATIENT: It breaks my heart, and, you know, when she’s crying my tooth hurts, and I can’t do anything but give her Orajel to kind of ease the pain.
ALMAGUER: Sutina knows her daughter is lucky. Outiside the L.A. Forum, hundreds are turned away. Some have waited for hours, others for days, just to see a doctor. Miguel Polacias has been told to come back for a third time Saturday.
MIGUEL POLACIAS: I haven't seen a dentist or a doctor in eight years.
ALMAGUER: In what organizers are calling the nation's largest health care event ever, the plan was to provide health care for some 8,000 by next week, but demand exceeds supply. Each day, hundreds more will have to be turned away – not enough doctors, not enough resources to help everyone.
DR. JEREMY TIBBS, DENTIST: It is understaffed, but, at the same time, even if we had more staff we’d still be understaffed because there are so many people that need help.ALMAGUER: RAM, or Remote Area Medical, began serving Third World countries back in 1985. In the U.S., they started working in underserved rural communities. Now they’ve made their way to the nation's second largest city.
STAN BROCK, REMOTE AREA MEDICAL: There really is no difference. This could be Guatemala. There is no difference.
ALMAGUER: For the lucky ones who were treated today, the hopeful ones who will return tomorrow, and the volunteers who treat them all, these days at the L.A. Forum are a stark illustration that for many Americans, free health care is the only health care they can afford. This massive mobile hospital will remain anchored here at the L.A. Forum until Tuesday. But organizers say if they were here all month it probably still would not meet the need of this city alone.
