Mama Might Be Better Off Dead: The Failure of Health Care in Urban America

Chapter 3 marks the beginning of a series of three chapters that focus on Cora’s experience as a poor, elderly, diabetes patient in the medical system. Jackie cares for Cora at home under the supervision of several nurses who visit the home to check in multiple times a week. These at-home visits are vital for relieving Jackie of some of her burdens, but at the same time, she feels scrutinized and judged by the nurses. Furthermore, Jackie struggles to secure the coverage she is entitled to for the at-home care, especially since some of Cora’s at-home needs are deemed “unnecessary” by Medicare standards.

Sister Mary Ellen, a Catholic nun who has lived and worked as a social worker in North Lawndale since the 1960s, arrives at the apartments and sets about advocating on behalf of Cora with various healthcare providers. Sister Mary Ellen was called a “soul sister” by members of the Black Power movement. Chief among the problems she hopes to solve is acquiring Cora’s green card, which is regranted monthly depending on whether she can meet a threshold of being “medically needy” for that cycle. Proving this means acquiring all of the medical bills and documentation and submitting them to the public aid office in time for the monthly deadline, which is less easy than it sounds: