Word: mccourt
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...most of his life, until he was well into his 60s, Frank McCourt wasn't a writer; he was a teacher. But it is as a writer, the author of the wildly successful memoir Angela's Ashes, that he will be remembered. He died on July 19 in New York of meningitis. He was 78 years old. (Read TIME's 1996 piece on Angela's Ashes...
...McCourt says most people have difficulty understanding the language in insurance policies. Even human-resources personnel may not fully understand all the intricacies of a policy when briefing a new employee. Also, coverage that appears adequate at first glance may fall short - eight annual doctor visits or three radiation courses may initially seem sufficient, but a breast-cancer patient can require many more visits and multiple radiation courses in just a few weeks of treatment...
...knowledge of the vast mosaic of policies, both public and private, because each state regulates its own health-insurance industry. Now, however, HIAS has nine specialists and has steadily expanded to include 36 states and the District of Columbia. The job of fielding calls is a stressful one, says McCourt, but the specialists "are very passionate about helping people understand what is available and making sure they are empowered." The HIAS specialists gain insight into which states offer affordable solutions and which states are not a good place to suffer through a major illness. Generally, states in the southeastern United...
...example, each state receives funding under the auspices of the Centers for Disease Control for breast- and cervical-cancer screening, but unless the patient knows exactly which clinic is utilizing those federal funds on a specific day and time, the screening may not be covered by the CDC funds, McCourt says. Specialists can guide patients through that bureaucratic maze and brief them on the right questions to ask and even the right language to use when making an appointment to ensure the screening is covered...
Young's story is just one of 20 featured in an ACS report that details the diverse experiences of some of the callers to the center, calls that have doubled in number since last summer as the economy has slumped, according to McCourt. "It became clear to the board of the American Cancer Society that unless we got people insured, we were not going to be able to reduce [cancer] incidence and mortality in this nation," says Christy Schmidt, senior policy director of the ACS. "If you can fix the system for cancer patients, we believe...