Health
Video: Skyrocketing Health Insurance Forces Americans to Scramble for Care
“When I saw the termination notice come in, it was kind of nerve-wracking.” James Digilio is 62 years old. He couldn’t pay for his health insurance after costs skyrocketed. “I was paying, last year, $57-a-month premium. And then it jumped up this year to $1,690 a month. When I first saw it, I was surprised. I thought this was a mistake.” Millions of people like James saw their insurance premiums soar in January after the Senate deadlocked on competing proposals, leaving the expanded tax subsidies to expire. James relies on medication to manage his blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. Since losing his insurance, he started rationing his medication. “I was concerned about the medications, not knowing how I was going to refill them. I figure if I could stretch it out and not take them for a week or so, then that’s another week I could tack on that I could still stretch it out to.” James works at a pizza restaurant, making $14 an hour washing dishes and delivering food — that brings in, on average, $1,200 a month plus tips. He says that the $1,690 health insurance payment would eat up all the income from his job. “It would have been very hard to manage to pay that much premium for health insurance.” He takes care of his sister, who is currently unemployed. In January, to cover their expenses, James took out his Social Security retirement benefits early. If he had paid for his new health insurance premium on top of the other expenses, that would have left him nearly $1,400 in debt at the end of each month. For years, Florida has been leading the nation in Affordable Care Act enrollment. One in five residents are enrolled in an A.C.A. plan, compared to one in 15 nationwide, and 98 percent of Florida’s enrollees relied on federal financial assistance to pay for a plan. Now, many are facing a future without health insurance. More than a million people nationwide have dropped their coverage since the A.C.A. subsidies expired. Today, with only a week and a half of medication left, James is visiting a free clinic nearby to see if they have the medications he needs. “OK, if you just take a seat and I’ll tell the nurse you’re here.” “Jimmy’s case is not unique. All of our new patients who had insurance and now do not have insurance have all seen tremendous increase in their monthly premiums to the point that they can’t afford them any longer.” Terri Belletto runs this volunteer-based clinic in Bunnell, a city in northeast Florida. It relies on private donations and grants for its funding. She says her clinic has seen a surge in patients over the past three months. “This is the largest increase in patients that we’ve seen in the 12 years that I’ve been here. If we’re not in crisis mode in health care in the United States, we’re almost there.” “So was it two months from now, you said?” For James, a measure of relief. Today, the clinic refilled over a month of medication for free. The clinic may have met his immediate health care needs, but what worries James is where to go for anything more serious and how he’d pay for it. “If I had affordable health care, my life would be easier. It would be more relaxed and I could not have to be stressed about the insurance and hopefully also medications.”
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Gabe Poirot says he ‘met Jesus’ during an 18-day coma
Kayleigh McEnany interviews Gabe Poirot, who shares his extraordinary near-death experience during an 18-day coma in October 2021. Poirot describes leaving his body, encountering Jesus, and witnessing how heaven is a person rather than a place. He also discusses his book, ’18 Days in Heaven,’ detailing his spiritual journey and message of hope.
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Rudy Giuliani, 81, is recovering from a severe case of viral pneumonia that led him into a coma in early May.
The former New York City mayor returned to his online talk show “America’s Mayor Live!” on May 13 and opened up about his health status.
“I feel like I’ve recovered 100%,” he said. “I’ve been home a few days and doing really, really well.”
RUDY GIULIANI OUT OF ICU, CONTINUING TO RECOVER IN HOSPITAL: ‘HE’S WINNING THIS FIGHT’
Giuliani reflected on his time in the hospital, revealing that he had a “very significant spiritual experience” while he was in a “state of out of it.”
“I would equate it to a dream of being on line headed for — I can’t say headed for heaven — headed for a trial with St. Peter,” he described.
Rudy Giuliani attends the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City in September 2024. The former New York City mayor, 81, is recovering from a severe case of viral pneumonia that led him into a coma in early May. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
“And there was a very, very significant intervention by my Peter. I have my own Peter, Peter Powers. Peter J. Powers, my friend of my lifetime.”
During this dream state, Peter said some “very significant words,” which Giuliani made sure to repeat and have others record when he woke up, he shared.
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“As soon as I could, I wrote it out so that I wouldn’t forget it, and it’s meant a lot to me, and I’ve been reflecting on it quite a bit,” he added.
Giuliani was able to discuss his experience with a priest — and plans to share more at a different time.
“I don’t want to embellish it,” he said. “I don’t want to deny what was there.”
Powers and Giuliani reportedly became friends in high school. Powers later served as Giuliani’s campaign manager and his first deputy mayor. He died in 2016 at 72 years old from complications with lung cancer, according to multiple news outlets.
Giuliani was hospitalized in critical but stable condition on Sunday, May 3, due to severe breathing issues.
Giuliani’s doctor, Maria Ryan, told Fox News correspondent Danamarie McNicholl that the former mayor began feeling ill after returning from a trip to Paris, with his breathing deteriorating to the point that he was placed on a ventilator.
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Ryan said his condition turned critical, prompting a priest to be called to his bedside to perform last rites. But by Tuesday, Giuliani’s condition had improved enough for doctors to remove him from the ventilator.
According to political strategist Ted Goodman, Giuliani’s response and exposure to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks later led to a diagnosis of restrictive airway disease.
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani stands with Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and Emergency Management Director Richard Scheirer before dedicating a public viewing platform overlooking the World Trade Center attack site in New York on Dec. 29, 2001. (Kathy Willens/AP)
Although Giuliani and his doctors have not confirmed that he had a “near-death experience,” similar encounters are often reported by people emerging from critical medical situations.
In a 2023 review published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, researchers analyzed more than four decades of reports of near-death experiences, involving more than 2,000 studies and nearly 500 individuals.
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Near-death events were categorized into four types of experiences: emotional, cognitive, spiritual/religious and supernatural.
The research identified common traits in these reports – especially having out-of-body experiences, passing through a tunnel, having heightened senses, seeing deceased people or religious figures, encountering a bright light and reviewing life events.
A detailed view of the 19th century statue of Saint Peter the Apostle holding a gold key, symbolizing the key to heaven, located in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, Rome. (iStock)
Although these experiences can differ by interpretation, the researchers concluded that the heightened senses and improved consciousness indicate that “these experiences are neither dreams nor sleep, nor the disorders caused.”
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“This phenomenon is medically inexplicable,” they wrote, adding that the research points to a consistent pattern that “supports the clarity and authenticity of near-death experiences.”
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed reporting.
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