Another wonderful example of state-run healthcare
UPDATE at the end...
And this time, it's the state of Iowa. From the
Quad-City Times:
Bettendorf woman says state wants late veteran�s assets
Two tours in Vietnam.
A Purple Heart.
A welding accident.
A wheelchair.
Death at 61.
A bill for $277,186.96.
Two months after Roger Lennon died, the woman who took care of him for more than a dozen years got a bill in the mail. The state of Iowa said the Bettendorf veteran owes almost $300,000 for the medical care he received in the state-run veterans home.
"I called them and said, 'Is this a joke?'" Sarah Miller said. "Who has that kind of money? And I was with Roger every time he was signed into the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown. They never said anything about billing him after he passed."
The spokesman for the Iowa Department of Human Services, which runs Medicaid for the state, said Lennon should have known the state would pursue any remaining assets after his death.
More:
In 1990, he was badly injured in a welding explosion in Bettendorf. After brain surgery, his ability to move changed dramatically. Most of the time, he was in a wheelchair.
"He could walk some with a quad cane, but he needed care," said Miller, his companion of 20 years. "He went through hell."
When he was awarded a modest settlement from the explosion, Lennon invested part of it. He and Miller put their money together to buy two rental properties, using the income as a retirement investment.
When Lennon lived - off and on - at the Veterans Home in Marshalltown, whatever money he made went to the state. He turned over his half of the rental income, $350, along with his veteran's benefits to the home in Marshalltown.
Meanwhile, Miller took care of the two properties they owned together. Now, she said, the state is demanding half of their value after Lennon's death on March 31.
"For the seven years Roger was in and out of Marshalltown, the houses were my expense," she said. "I paid the property taxes, put in the septic system the county required a few years ago, and I put in a new furnace in one.
"None of those expenses, including the taxes, are necessary expenses, according to the state. The only so-called legitimate expense was the funeral. They want half the value of the houses. It doesn't matter how much I saved the state for the 13 years I took care of him."
One of the homes is valued at $42,920, she said, and the other is worth about $35,000. Both are in Bettendorf.
The letter from DHS, indicating a debt of $277,186.96 begins, "We have been informed of the death of the above person, and we wish to express our sincere condolences."
The third paragraph, highlighted in bold, states, "This debt must be, and can only be, paid from anything that the individual owned or had an interest in at the time of death."
And these are the people who are currently giving aid and comfort to our Veterans. Just imagine what it will be like when they are the people controlling everybody's medical care.
When you pencil out the numbers, there are only about 5% of the US population who are genuinely without any kind of recourse for medical aid. Why don't we address them directly instead of trying to fit everyone into the same Procrustean Bed. Since Medicare actually works pretty well, how about lowering the age limit to 21 -- that would solve the problem without introducing any new agencies and would not impact the people who are satisfied with their healthcare...
UPDATE: One commenter mentioned that the bill was coming from the State Medicaid program and if you are indigent, it is an assist but if you obtain property -- even after the time of care -- the assistance becomes a loan and they can and will collect on it. This mitigates my anger a little bit but not by much. For the agency to be so harsh to Ms. Miller speaks volumes on the bureaucratic mindset.
Posted by DaveH at July 5, 2009 5:39 PM