Holes in the safety net: Medicaid falls short just as some need it most
By Tom Curry and JoNel Aleccia

(ie. we need to fix Medicaid so illegal immigrants have better access to service).


Antonia Mejorado, 33, of Goshen, Ind., has to drive two hours to reach a specialist willing to accept Medicaid and treat her 2-year-old daughter, Ashley Soto.

updated 7:42 a.m. CT, Mon., July. 27, 2009
GOSHEN, Ind.—

For weeks now, 2-year-old Ashley Soto's hair has been falling out in clumps and bunches.

Doctors at the Maple City Health Care Center, a neighborhood clinic where the toddler's family receives most care, couldn’t diagnose the problem. The child needed to see a specialist, but no local dermatologist would agree to accept Medicaid, the government’s safety net plan. Instead, Antonia Mejorado, 33, has to drive nearly two hours to see a dermatologist willing to treat her daughter's potentially serious illness.

“There is not a doctor around here that takes Medicaid,â€