It happens all the time in America, only this time the story made the Washington Post.
All the kid needed was "a routine, $80 tooth extraction."
Too bad Deamonte Driver wasn't lucky enough to be a Canadian, or even a Canadian immigrant. Hell, if Deamonte had lived in any developed nation other than America, the unavailability of healthcare would not have killed him.
Twelve-year-old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache Sunday.
A routine, $80 tooth extraction might have saved him.
f his mother had been insured.
If his family had not lost its Medicaid.
If Medicaid dentists weren't so hard to find.
If his mother hadn't been focused on getting a dentist for his brother, who had six rotted teeth.
By the time Deamonte's own aching tooth got any attention, the bacteria from the abscess had spread to his brain, doctors said. After two operations and more than six weeks of hospital care, the Prince George's County boy died.
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What they're saying:
Dentist or Death
Dying For Want of Insurance
We Can Do Better Than This
Deamonte Driver Healthcare Medicaid News Politics Canada Universal Healthcare
