21782: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-For Haitian immigrant family of eight, insurance is not (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Sun, May. 09, 2004





For Haitian immigrant family of eight, insurance is not an option

BY GAIL EPSTEIN NIEVES

gepstein@herald.com


Gabriel Demosthene is a part-time college student, church leader and father
of six who tries to stretch his meager income beyond Miami to his native
Haiti.

It doesn't stretch far enough for health insurance. So his wife, Neslyne
Naissance Charlstin, 37, had no prenatal care before delivering baby
Elgabsaid in November at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

''I bought a lot of books, how to heal and stay healthy . . . but the
children from time to time, they get sick,'' said Demosthene, 35. ''I pray
to God to work miracles'' if something serious happens.

Demosthene drove a cab until recently. The hours were flexible but his
earnings varied and he hated the work. While looking for a different job,
he's taking night classes at Barry University, courtesy of a grant and
student loans.

His family lives in a $700-a-month, three-bedroom duplex near Miami Shores.
The children are 5 months to 8, all U.S.-born.

Until two years ago, the household got food stamps. Medicaid pays about $550
a month for each of two children with special needs. The others probably
would qualify for KidCare, a state-sponsored plan, but Demosthene admits he
lost the paperwork.

They get annual checkups at the Borinquen Health Care Center near downtown,
where visits run $20 to $30.

If they need medicine, ''What I can afford, I buy them. What I can't afford,
I just pray to God and let it go,'' Demosthene says.

The legal resident who left Haiti in 1996 somehow makes do. In addition to
household and school expenses, he pays about $10 a month for international
phone cards, makes church donations and sends money to family and a school
in Haiti, which he visits several times a year.

Jackson sent bills after the new baby's birth. Charlstin took them to the
Department of Children & Families. Demosthene figures the charges will be
waived.

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