It’s more repo men!
Link:
A top aide to Governor Mitt Romney wants Massachusetts hospitals to bemore aggressive in collecting from patients who do not pay their bills,and he said the problem may be addressed by legislation theadministration is drafting to expand coverage of the uninsured.
Jeebus, what kind of grim, Dickensian world are these people trying to drag us down into? First Kerry Healey wants to kick Grandma and Grandpa out of the house (heck, probably out of the state, the way real estate prices are these days); now Romney’s chief health advisor Tim Murphy wants to keep hospitals in the black by sending out heavies to grab your car so you can’t get to your third job to pay off the medical debt you incurred because you couldn’t afford the crappy, overpriced "catastrophic" insurance that only your second job offered.
Look, we all know Romney’s not really interested in the job in ’06 — why don’t the Republicans just nominate Mr. Potter from "It’s a Wonderful Life", just swallow the misanthropy Kool-Aid in one gulp, and be done with it?
Do you know how long it takes a working man to save five thousand dollars? Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you’re talking about. They do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn’t think so. People were human beings to him, but to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they’re cattle. Well, in my book, he died a much richer man than you’ll ever be.
(Thanks to Health Care for All for the steer.)
UPDATE: Sorry, I just can’t resist commenting on this (pg. 2 of the article) as well:
Recognizing the sensitivity of the topic after it was broached,Romney’s communications director, Eric Fehrnstrom, subsequently saidthe comments were off the record. But he later conceded they were notand made Murphy available for a follow-up interview this week. ”Wedon’t want to be viewed as throwing bricks at the hospitals" whilewe’re working with them to cover the uninsured, Fehrnstrom said.
Well, I’m sure the hospitals appreciate that consideration, Mr. Fehrnstrom. As for the rest of us, I hope our windshields are shatterproof.
As for Murphy’s follow-up, we’ll be watching this with interest. In the meantime, here’s Health Care for All‘s John McDonough’s letter to the Globe.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Echoing our point that there are real lives at stake here, see Lynne’s story here. Soon, I’m going to be doing a call for materials on your stories of health care deprived, or health care at risk. Thanks for holding forth, Lynne.
Remember, you have to piggy back this on to the new bankrupcy legislation perpetrated at the Federal level, where catastrophic medical bills are the main reason for personal bankruptcies. GOP= Greed Over People
Of course you’re right, Steven. The sheer variety of ways that the GOP is helping ruin the lives of ordinary people is quite hard to keep track of.
On a wall in a lobby of Massachusetts General Hospital is the original handwritten charter granted to the hospital from the legislature in early 19th century. One of the conditions of the charter was that the hospital never turn away a person regardless of ability to pay.This is another example of state government not being a chain of office supply stores. You can’t get rid of things you do not like.
The comment reminds me of one made by BU’s very own Goldin a few years ago. He pointed out to the student newspaper that BU must eliminate the low-demand courses, since it simply isn’t effecient to have low teacher-student ratios.When somebody misses the forst for the trees so blatantly, how do you react?
civil disobedience?
“When somebody misses the forst for the trees so blatantly, how do you react?”I think you’re doing it, stomv.
^ I’m preaching to the choir. It’s something, but it surely isn’t enough… ugh.
stomv, What are you doing on the morning on June 8, 9am to 11am? I have something you can do. I’ll be posting on it in the very near future.