CLARKESVILLE, Ga. — Last September, Alton Fry went to the doctor concerned he had high blood pressure. The trip would result in a prostate cancer diagnosis.
So began the stress of trying to pay for tens of thousands of dollars in treatment — without health insurance.
“I’ve never been sick in my life, so I’ve never needed insurance before,” said Fry, a 54-year-old self-employed masonry contractor who restores old buildings in the rural Appalachian community he’s called home nearly all his life.
Making sure he had insurance was the last thing on his mind, until recently, Fry said. He had been rebuilding his life after a prison stay, maintaining his sobriety, restarting his business, and remarrying his wife. “Things got busy,” he said.
Now, with a household income of about $48,000, Fry and his wife earn too much to qualify for Georgia’s limited Medicaid expansion. And he said he found that the health plans sold on the state’s Affordable Care Act exchange were too expensive or the coverage too limited.
In late April, a friend launched a crowdfunding campaign to help Fry cover some of the costs. To save money, Fry said, he’s taking a less aggressive treatment route than his doctor recommended.
“There is no help for middle-class America,” he said.
Fry makes too much money to get he …