Program connects cash-strapped patients with volunteer care

By ANN POTEMPA, Anchorage Daily News. Published: February 28, 2006.

Joshua Kiele couldn’t walk without pain. He couldn’t work because the pain got in the way.

And if he couldn’t work and didn’t have health insurance, he couldn’t pay the thousands of dollars required for hip-replacement surgery.

Kiele, 30, tried to find medical coverage for repair of his right hip joint, aggravated by a shallow bone socket and arthritis. He applied unsuccessfully for medical benefits through Social Security. He moved to Alaska to be near a brother who could help him and his children.

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