Yup

It is a Republic city, Republicans hate free health care.

I hope. The whole bush-dweller thing in those couple episodes had too much time to be overlooked.

It should be.

it should be but unlikely to occur

They have already dropped it. Because logically, all the problems go away after you get rid of the only guy trying to help people.

All cities have poverty. If dealing with poverty is not part of the storyline, then it won't be covered, is my guess.
Should it be? No. I think that poverty is a real issue, but it's also a fact of life, and just because they have shown it on a couple of occasions - you know, making the city and society they have created that much more believable - does not mean the creators are obligated to tackle it as an issue. If they do, fine, I won't have a problem, but I don't think it should just because we've seen cases of poverty around the city.
And pumpkinqueen: What? At what point do they say all problems have gone away? All they seem to be showing is they have more pressing concerns elsewhere. And who was the only guy trying to help people?