MICHAEL PEREZ / Staff Photographer
Iyasu "Izzy" Habtemicael workstwo jobs and relies on the city's free clinics for health care.
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Lack of insurance brought diabetic near death
Flower delivery man was hospitalized for $41,000 because he could not get into see a doctor.
On May 11, Izzy felt massive stomach pain. He really thought the pain was just bad food from the night before, when he worked a graduation party as a DJ, another side job he sometimes does.
But then he vomited and vomited and finally blood was coming up, and he was in agony, and a friend called the ambulance.
"Crazy pain," Izzy recalled. "Extreme pain. A ton of bricks on my chest. It was that fast."
Izzy was taken to Mercy Philadelphia Hospital at 54th and Cedar in West Philadelphia. His blood sugar was so high that he went into diabetic ketoacidosis - his body, starving for glucose, started breaking down muscle and fat, making toxins that could kill him.
In the ICU, Izzy met a nurse practitioner, Patricia Bevlock, working with endocrinologist Violeta Popii. Bevlock grew fond of Izzy and believed his extreme illness and hospitalization were unnecessary.
"The gist about Izzy is he was a guy who didn't want to take any handouts," Bevlock said, "didn't want to live with his parents. He decided to work two jobs and be responsible for himself. He tried to do everything he could. But there wasn't enough for him there. There was no one to point him in the right direction. He kind of fell through the cracks.
"He was trying to work and be responsible, and he couldn't really wait for the system, because the system requires a lot of time," she said. "If he could have gotten to see a doctor sooner, it could have been avoided."
Bevlock, now working at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital, also felt the insulin that Izzy was getting from the free clinic was inappropriate for him.
She believed he needed a better class of insulin, and gave him 30 days of free samples, Lantis and Novolog.
Thomas P. Storey, the physician in charge of city clinics, said, "Did she also tell him those drugs will cost $500 a month?"
Philadelphia spends $40 million a year on clinics, $7 million for pharmacy, Storey said. He said the city can't afford to buy more expensive insulin for all the diabetics it treats.
Everyone wants the best drugs, he said. But who pays for it?
"People want the American system for free," he said.
Because of his hospitalization, his diabetes, and his low income, Izzy became eligible for medical assistance from the state for one year.
Taxpayers will pick up most of his hospital costs. The latest bill shows that Izzy owes $5,173.94. He was told that medical assistance would cover that too, but if it doesn't, he says, he'll pay a few dollars a week.
Medical assistance also enables Izzy to get the better insulin at a pharmacy, and to see the specialist, Popii, whom he met recently.
"She told me I need to see a dietitian," he said, "so she can help me out to count calories and teach me to balance out my food and medicine. That was quite helpful. And she gave me some extra medicines. It went well. It felt good. And I'm going to revisit. I have to do blood work, and she has to analyze."
Izzy must apply for medical assistance again next May. The university limits him to part-time hours at the garage, but he is hoping to get on full time, which would entitle him to health insurance.
That's a big reason why he stays.
What Went Wrong
