The way to care for the poor is through true charity — not government "charity" devised by politicians, writes Dr. Alieta Eck, a specialist in internal medicine and founder of the Zarephath Health Center. Government should step aside and let the physicians and the communities work together to solve the problem.

For example, the Zarephath Health Center, which started in 2003, is open only 10 hours a week and yet currently provides free care to 200 patients per month — completely through the kindness of volunteer doctors and nurses.

Expenses last year totaled $44,000, so calculations tell us that the physicians provided care, including free medicines, for an average of $22 per patient visit, writes Dr. Eck. Compare that with the average hospital ER visit of well over $1,000.

Patients at Zarephath were grateful as they understood the sacrifice of the unpaid staff, and many transitioned to private physician offices once their financial situations improved, writes Dr. Eck.

These patients might not still have New Jersey's overpriced health insurance, but they can pay something toward the real cost of their care, knowing that a backup of a free clinic still exists should they fall into hard times again.