A recent article in the ProJo illustrates why volunteer clinics like Remote Area Medical and the Free Clinic cannot solve our health care problem.

PROVIDENCE — Ruth Sobola was first in line at the Rhode Island Free Clinic Thursday afternoon, standing in front of 75 people gathered on a sidewalk alongside the Hindle Building at 655 Broad St. They were waiting for a shot at what many others take for granted –– health care.

A small slice of the 120,000 Rhode Islanders without health insurance, these people had pinned their hopes of seeing a doctor on a lottery, a monthly event at the Free Clinic.

Sobola said she’d been there since 2 p.m., although the drawing would not start until 4:30 p.m. “I have a toothache. It’s very painful,” she said. “All my body is aching. I have to see the doctor because of the pain in my body.”

Sobola, 57, has a job with the Falvey Linen Co., but the insurance offered to her was too expensive. She hadn’t seen a doctor since her husband lost his health insurance two years ago.

The Free Clinic runs on the good will of volunteers and donors and they do good work, but they cannot begin to meet the need. People need health care security. A public option to buy into a plan at a cost proportionate to income will help low-wage workers and their employers to cope with the rising costs of for-profit insurance.