Posted on 02/10/2020 10:21:51 AM PST by C19fan
There is at least one issue a divided electorate can come together on this election year: A recent poll finds 90% of those surveyed agreed on the importance of making health care more affordable.
Millions of Americans remain uninsured.
As Meg Oliver reports in partnership with ProPublica, some people are even going to jail because they're squeezed by a system that's putting new demands on overburdened incomes.
Tres and Heather Biggs' son Lane was diagnosed with leukemia when he was five years old. At the same time, Heather suffered seizures from Lyme disease.
"We had so many — multiple health issues in our family at the same time, it put us in a bracket that made insurance unattainable," Heather Biggs said. "It would have made no sense. We would have had to have not eaten, not had a home."
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Debtor’s prison all over again.
When I was growing up, we were told “no debtor’s prisons in the USA.”
More recently, there are debtor’s prisons for divorced parents, usually fathers, who fall behind in their court-mandated payments.
This would be new. Maybe there’s more to the story, or else they could pay their bills with a credit card, converting them into credit card debt. That would be safer, because “Couple thrown into jail for not paying their credit card debt” would be a PR loser.
They aren’t being put in jail for medical debt, they are being put in jail for contempt of court for not showing up to court. That will just about happen every time a court orders you to show up, and you give them the middle finger by not showing up.
Where is General Oglethorpe now that we really need him!
In Rochester, MN the biggest employer is debt collection for the Mayo Clinic.
This is just wrong. I thought debtor’s prisons were not allowed. I’m sure illegals don’t show up and are not placed in prison.
Denounce your US citizenship and live here as an illegal alien and you’ll get FREE medical care along with all kinds of other FREE stuff.
They went to jail for ignoring a subpoena not for being unable to pay medical bills.
Just like the gilded shithole of UAE/Dubai. Debtors Prisons are a thing there.
They are likely doing this to scare people into wanting medicaid for all, just in time for the elections
"Get me Ham on Five, Hold the Mayo."
The headline doesn’t quite match with reality. He didn’t go to jail due to unpaid medical bills. He missed two hearings.
“””””That law was put in place at Hassenplug’s own recommendation to the local judge. The attorney uses that law by asking the court to direct people with unpaid medical bills to appear in court every three months and state they are too poor to pay in what is called a “debtors exam.”
If two hearings are missed, the judge issues an arrest warrant for contempt of court. Bail is set at $500.””””””””””””””””””
In my mind a legal technicality. The lawyer is using the courts to harass people to collect a debt.
“Tres Biggs went to jail for failing to appear in court for unpaid medical bills. “
Just show up, dude.
Welcome to dem controlled USSA.
The way I read the article, he didn’t get thrown in jail for failure to pay. It was for failure to appear before the court when required. From the article:
“Tres Biggs went to jail for failing to appear in court for unpaid medical bills. He described it as “scary.” “
and
“If two hearings are missed, the judge issues an arrest warrant for contempt of court. Bail is set at $500.”
She was not jailed for failure to pay her bills,
she was jailed for failure to appear in court.
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