We are headed towards a catastrophe...

[markodochartaigh]

2. The line between health and death

is much thinner than most people understand. And for a lot of people that lifeline is spun from government thread.
Working as a registered nurse in the intake area of one of the largest county jails in the US I would come across people who had stopped taking their blood pressure, diabetes, and once, even transplant medications. The county hospital, which covered medical care in the jail, required a current driver's license/i.d. to be enrolled in the low income program. People would get a traffic or parking ticket, not pay it, and end up with fines that they couldn't pay. Sooner or later they wouldn't be able to renew their license and they wouldn't be able to stay enrolled in the county program.
Our safety nets are a patchwork and more people than we realize fall through.