As the proverb goes, “Health is wealth.” But with recent changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicaid, millions of people are grappling with rising insurance and medical costs.
Locally, a network of organizations is available to provide free medical services to uninsured patients, including Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM). Dr. Daniel Frayne, the nonprofit’s medical ministry director, says that last year the clinic saw an uptick in patients because other federally qualified health centers were overwhelmed.
“The places that are supposed to be available to people with Medicaid, with Medicare — it’s harder and harder to get in,” Frayne says. “And so that’s put an increase on us.”…