photo: Radiant Guy/ BY-SA

This story originally aired on NPR's Morning Edition, March 24, 2010

President Obama signed the health care overhaul bill into law yesterday. Still, some health organizations want more to be done to provide care to uninsured Americans including the American Dental Association. They opposed the bill because it didn't increase funding for dental services paid by Medicaid. And that, the ADA says, won't help the millions of Americans without dental insurance. Youth Radio's Jennifer Obakhume visits one family dealing with that reality.

Cesscia Rojo and her sister Adriana are young and healthy, except they have dental issues. Major ones. Cesscia says, when they needed care, they used to go to Tijuana, Mexico.

“I went to Tijuana and that’s where they started the root canal. When I came back, all the problems started with the drugs dealers, so I wasn’t going back to TJ anytime soon.”

Both sisters have tried to get dental care in the U-S. Adriana used a free clinic in Southern California to have a broken tooth pulled. But she needs more dental work.

“I still have a hole in my mouth. It hurts sometimes if I chew bread cuz it goes in there and it hurts, but other than that it’s good.”

The sisters live at a home with their parents. Cesscia says they enjoy cooking dinner together every night.

"See really you know, Mexican culture, we, they hold on to us until we’re married. And we’re not married, and we’re here until we finish school. And then we’ll take them in. And we’re just going to stay together."

The family has lived legally in the US for years. Some members have insurance, some don't. Cessica says her relatives still often go to Mexico for medical treatment. Almost a million Californians get health care in Mexico each year, according to the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

“I know a lot of my cousins have done it and my aunts and uncles have done it. It’s about half as much as you’d pay here, which is still a lot of money, but much less. You’re not going to get a dentist for sixty bucks to patch up your hole. It’s a couple grand."

But Cesscia and Adriana are too worried about the violence to back to Mexico. So they get basic health services like immunizations at school. And for acute or chronic conditions, they’re on their own. Adriana says she just ignores her health issues, like her broken tooth.

"My main concern is that I still have an infection, but we can’t do anything about it, so I try not to think about it."

The president has just signed the health bill. But Adriana hasn't given much thought to what the new law will mean for her. Her focus is on finishing school and then finding a job to pay for medical and dental care.

For NPR News, I'm Jennifer Obakhume.