Police charged him with second degree robbery and third degree theft and told police while they were questioning him that he needed medical care and would only be able to get it in jail. Since Friday when this happened, the robbery charge was dismissed, only leaving the theft charge which will probably also be dismissed or reduced. The guy better get his medical stuff taken care of soon because they are going to put him back on the streets. The man has no previous criminal record.
:( poor guy. This is just pitiful.
ReplyDeletevery sad. with no previous criminal record they should drop the charges and get him the help he needs. Not everyone has the good fortune to drop 50 grand every year like Lindsay Lohan to sort-out their health problems
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteCuriously, Kitzhaber built up a pretty good system of caring for the indigent in the state. I'm imagining he didn't realize how to get signed up or how to get services.
ReplyDeleteThat was in Kitzhabers first time as govenor, when he authored and funded the Oregon Health Plan. 12-15 years later it has been picked apart and has no funding, effectively rendering it GONE.
DeleteThat was in Kitzhabers first time as govenor, when he authored and funded the Oregon Health Plan. 12-15 years later it has been picked apart and has no funding, effectively rendering it GONE.
DeleteExactly PJ- in Oregon the only way you qualify for Oregon Health Plan is if you're pregnant or under 18. Otherwise all applications are denied. It's been that way for at least 8 years now.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAmerica: Best Damned Health Care System in the World®
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, fuck you if you don't want universal health care.
I'm half American/half Australian and it's times like this i'm glad my mother put her foot down and told my dad that she was going to raise her son in Sydney. Don't get me wrong. I love both countries and we are alike in a lot of ways but health care and guns are things we'll probably never mirror each other on.
ReplyDeleteI've personally seen this happen, it's terrible that someone should have to do this to get help! The person I knew of robbed a bank to get care for infected gentitals! Poor fella. When he was released, sherif picked him up and took him to jail:(, so sad!
ReplyDeleteAs a Canadian, I'll readily admit that our health care system isn't perfect, but the concept that you could lose your coverage just seems bizarre and cruel to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm just stuck on the fact that this man is 50. I'm 50 and he looks like he could be my grandfather.
ReplyDeleteI refuse to raise children here. From the certain profiling to the lack of healthcare...just everything. I could never have a son here and feel good about his future. Its always heartbreaking to hear people say "Jail is warm, it has food, a bed, guards, i want to get locked up."
ReplyDeleteThe US will give a criminal healthcare before a child or a not-even-elderly-yet man. Let that sink in.
I know someone else who did something similar to this. It's appalling that the state of healthcare is such that we need to go to such extremes to get it. We are not valued here at all.
ReplyDeleteThat is heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteFuck Obamacare!
ReplyDeleteMy premiums are up 30% this year expected to go up 20 more next year, so I agree fuck it. I may be in line next year with Thom poor thing.
DeleteTerribly sad. Come on, guys...join me as a social worker! I don't always have the answers, but damned if I don't try to help find them. :-/
ReplyDeleteIn MA, a person convicted of brutally murdering his wife is serving life without parole AND getting a taxpayer-funded sex-reassignment surgery.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing 'wrong' this poor guy did was only 'steal' $1. and be honest about it. Obviously not a thief and the $1. shouts ethical, but he still wont get care. Now if he had done something horrific he'd be on the medical gravy train.
God bless him. The system is broken and no one is shouting out their windows " I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"
AKM you ROCK! I volunteer at a homeless shelter for women that does not accept government funds in order to set its own goals and standards. Its a kind, humane, program that aims to restore women - not just slap a band aid on the problem with a blanket and a hot meal and then 'get out'.
ReplyDeleteIn North Carolina
feeding the homeless will get you arrested http://www.commondreams.org/further/2013/08/26-1
Uh this type of stuff is common. Homeless get themselves arrested so they can have food, a place to sleep, hell even clean underwear. Even in the cold months cops will arrest vagrants for simple things to get them inside for the night so they don't freeze to death. It's about more than healthcare. For some its a way of life.
ReplyDeleteWow he looks much older than 50. And yeah it's sad that someone has to resort to robbery so he can get medical care. In CA you can walk into an emergency room and they won't charge you but must treat you.
ReplyDeleteAlso OR has a pretty generous care program if you don't have some sort of managed care or so I thought. He needs a social worker to help him negotiate that system.
Or maybe it's another Enty story that's not very well researched and just posted for clicks. Anyone have time to search on it?
Our system is SOOOOOOO fucked up. I can't afford $360 a month on health insurance with a car and rent and other bills. I have to have money to eat, you know. And then you have to wait 20 hours in line to get seen by a doctor who looks down on you if you work 40 hours if you go to the free clinic, which isn't actually free unless you're on welfare and don't want to get off your ass an work.
ReplyDelete'MERICA
That's a pretty rough 50. He made his choices. Saving my tears. Personal responsibility.
ReplyDeleteThe choices he made in life should have nothing to do with whether or not this man should have access to basic healthcare. Criminals get healthcare. Ted Bundy got healthcare. This man deserves it as well.
DeleteKels on this I agree, I also believe that everyone has the right to good health wether rich or poor and as I'm in the UK I have to say it isn't without faults but the NHS is a great thing. Good health isn't a luxury for those well off but a right for everyone.
DeleteCardinal Girl, YOU rock, too. Programs CANNOT work without volunteers. They are the unsung heroes of the social-services world. I'm sure you get just as much or more out of it than the clients you're helping, too. That's the beauty of helping...we ALL help and teach each other.
ReplyDeleteAnd anyone who tries to make ANY difference, no matter how small, also rocks. You bought that guy who looked like he might have been experiencing homelessness a cup of coffee and a $1 burger at McDonald's? You rock. Your time is limited but you still write checks faithfully for the causes you believe in? You rock. You pray or send out good vibes and try to smile at strangers to brighten their days? You rock. Never underestimate the power of the little things! :-)
Oh fuck your sanctimonious bullshit.
ReplyDeleteYou don't know this guy.
You have no fucking clue what his "choices" were.
And fuck you, too, just on general purposes.
I know. Like he made the choice to get sick.
DeleteIf he doesn't get the medical care that he wants, what will he do next? These charges won't amount to much, and he'll have to commit a bigger crime to get thrown in prison. Scary times, man.
ReplyDeleteThis is a local story that is being floated nationally by msn, gawker, thinkprogress, huffpo and other lefty sites in order to gin up sympathy for Obamacare. Notice that none of the stories say what healthcare needs he has. (Just guessing here but his healthcare needs are probably "food" and "shelter" - things that have nothing to do with nationalized healthcare and everything to do with being homeless.) Also, the only local media stories mention his recent history of mentally erratic behavior. Hmm, wonder why?
ReplyDeleteLastly, none of the stories mentions his actual government healthcare options. This took place in Oregon, a liberal state governed by a Democrat. There are options for indigent people. But this one's crazy so he did a crazy thing instead of getting healthcare (and food and shelter) at other peoples' expense. And the political opportunists jumped on it. Nice.
P.S. All Canadians and Pretend Canadians can mind their own business on healthcare. You guys are no prize. There are many horror stories about nationalized healthcare, in Canada, Britain, Europe. Of course you need an open mind in order to hear them.
Of course there are horror stories, I'm sure even when you have full paid up healthcare because you won the life lottery to be able to afford it there have been horror stories too. That is because either way you are treated by humans and humans make mistakes.
DeleteBut the principle that a civilised society ensures everyone and not just those with money can live without pain and can have good health rather than saying fuck you, you are poor or you work in a more remedial job so you don't get help and that people can die just because they don't have enough money is the main point and one I don't think any moral decent human can disagree with.
Also you can keep out if the NHS until you have actually used it. As I have a son with cystic fibrosis I'm in hospitals regularly and I can't tell you how wonderful they are.
I read last year that 3/4 of all personal bankruptcies in the US are because of medical debt. Thank you Ayn Rand and all your rugged individualist followers. You should all be proud. I think I'll spend this afternoon shopping for a hospital to have a heart attack near. Because the consumer drives pricing in a free market.
ReplyDeleteAyn Rand had the right idea, but capitalists and libertarians seem to forget that their ideas are only perfect when society is truly equal. When we all have the same opportunites, same access to insitutions, same educational oppotunites, then the real competition can begin because we all started with the same tools and help. That is when it is truly merit based and a free market can flourish and regulate itself, as Adam Smith loved to say.
DeleteWe do not have any kind of equality in this society so it doesn't work.
Yeah, because everyone on welfare wants to be there. The biggest reason that families stay on welfare is because they cannot find affordable child care when they are finally able to find jobs. The second biggest reason is lack of reliable transportation or good public transportation to said jobs. The long term welfare recipients are the MINORITY.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest long term welfare recipients in this country are BP, Shell, GE, WalMart and others. That is where your tax dollars are going, to billion dollar profit corporations. Congrats on making the 1% richer while the US middle class is dying.
Truth
DeleteVery sad. And i agree, screw you if you dont want universal health care.
ReplyDeleteAs an american, i grew up with this health system and always had coverage thru work, so im not looking to relocate for that reason, or any actually. But i want everyone to be able to see a dr or dentist when they need too. What advantage to a society are people who are chronically ill? Or children with problems because mothers didnt get pre natal care? You build from the bottom up; innocuoate everyone, educate them and keep them healthy. It ultimately benefits ALL of us.
Think about all the BILLIONS of dollars wasted over the years because insurance companies have come between US citizens and the health care that should be guaranteed to them.
ReplyDeleteBeing in the Canadian medical system I can tell you I'd take our flawed public system over none any day.
ReplyDeleteA 'first world' country shouldn't deny basic dignity to its most vulnerable segments by not providing some standard of medical care.
It is a sad day not just for our country but for humanity when some people could be so cold hearted against someone less fortunate than them. Please, someone tell me, what is so wrong with universal healthcare? Honestly, is it the money for some people or are some people just shitty people, because I honestly cannot find a single reason NOT to want healthcare for ANYONE who needs it. PERIOD!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, it's not a partisan issue-basic human rights anybody? I am more than just who I vote for. Also anyone who thinks people on welfare are just lazy leeches, obviously have not had the misfortune of being faced with little to no alternatives. I have a disabled family member (since birth and she's in her 20s) that we won't institutionalize. If it wasnt for some government programs not only would she not be receiving proper care but we, the people who care for her would be unable to provide it.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Himya! Most people on government assistance would rather not be but sometimes circumstances beyond their control makes it a necessity.
ReplyDeleteYup, another Canuck here. I agree with Urban Chaos. I would take our flawed public health care over the US system any day.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has had a roller coaster of ups and downs in their life, one thing I've never worried about (and definitely taken for granted thinking back) is the security of free healthcare.
If I get sick, I go to the doctor/hospital and get taken care of. I may have to wait 5 hours to be seen, but it WILL happen, and it will be free.
I can't even imagine what it would be like at the lowest points in my life, not being able to AFFORD to go to the doctor. It really is heartbreaking :(
the poor guy should have brought a gun, what was he thinking?
ReplyDeleteI am the person between the cracks. I am not homeless, I am not on welfare, I work, I pay my bills. But I don't have health insurance.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Because I work for a small employer who doesn't offer it. I used to have individual insurance until I had the gall to get very sick with a disease that, once cured has a recurrence rate no higher than for the rest of the general population. My insurance cancelled me and now no one will cover me because of my pre existing condition. Sure, I can get catastrophic coverage for over $800/month with NO coverage until I've had $20,000 in medical bills...and then it only covers 80%.
I have done everything right. I pull my weight. And I live in fear of getting sick, and when I do, I wait much longer to see my doctor (who is amazingly understanding, btw) when I am sick.
Those are my life choices. So fuck any of you who think, his life choices, his problem. We have a broken system. But it's always easier to stick your head in the sand while politicians spout sound bites like, "personal responsibility!" "Obama wants to ration your healthcare!" while they take money from the very entities they are protecting.
Healthcare is a basic, human right. It's not a luxury. It's not a reward. It's a necessity.
I'm in the same crack as you. I work two jobs and go to school full time, but neither job offers a health care and dye to school expenses, I'm unable to get find affordable coverage. I've never been handed money or help, always pay my bills and have never gotten in more trouble than a speeding ticket. No bad choices made, besides not finishing school earlier.
DeleteIf you don't think everyone deserves healthcare as a human right and necessity, you're a very selfish and horrible person.
Oh, Canada. So needy. Sing me your superior song while you're waiting in line, for years, for your medical procedure to be approved by the bureaucrazy. Hope it's not too late! "Flawed public health care system" is an understatement. By the time you figure out that all the money is spent on maintaining votes, not lives, it's too late, you're dead.
ReplyDeleteWhen crazy people do crazy things, do you cry crocodile tears over their sad lives and exploit their craziness for political gain? This story is disgusting.
Armatel, I really hope that nothing ever happens to you, beyond your control, that puts you in the position of not being able to get healthcare.
ReplyDeleteIf it did, maybe you would have a little more empathy and compassion for your fellow humans.
I know people like you. They spout off to me (thinking I feel the same way)about the "others" who are shiftless losers, just wanting free shit from the government...until I tell them that I am one of the "others". You would be amazed at how many people you know that are "others" too.
@Armatel I've never waited longer than a month for any procedure. Including 2 surgeries. And I didn't have to take out a second mortgage to afford them either ;)
ReplyDeleteI am Australian & extremely grateful for our healthcare system. My husband & I can afford private health insurance, but I have a dear friend who flogs herself to make ends meet & can't afford it. She maintains her dignity with our system.
ReplyDeleteSome people posting here are real idiots---Armatel I hope in the next life you are born poor as shit on a dirt floor.
ReplyDeleteThe idiots are the small minded nitwits flogging "free" healthcare under the flimsiest of pretexts. Like Pavlov's dogs. Woof, woof.
ReplyDeletePay attention, morons: IT'S NOT FREE.
And neither are you. You are led about by political opportunists who use and manipulate you with stories like this one. They don't care about you. They care about is accruing power and influence and money. That requires a cowed population willing to do what they're told. That would be you.
Another thing. This morality play you're engaged in is a joke. You freely assume that anyone opposed to or even questioning the "right" to "free" healthcare (I should put "healthcare in quotes, too) is a Bad Greedy Person Who Doesn't Understand. Children, please. Angry f-bomb ill-wish frenzy impresses no one. I don't need any instruction from you sorry lot about struggling and being poor. I'm very familiar with the reality of that situation which is why I weigh in on topics like this one without guilt. You need to hear the other side of the story.
Here's a suggestion:
Read up on what really happens under nationalized healthcare. It's not pretty. Draw your own conclusions but at least get the other side of the story. You've got the internet, it's not difficult, it's not asking too much. Question authority. Obamacare is a big obvious con just like every other notion that has teleprompted its way out of our POTUS. But I realize it's not obvious to people who desperately want to believe. Just don't fall for it with your eyes closed.
Remember, this is the guy who said "The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."
Yeah, right, whatever ...
Lola get off your high horse. I don't know you to say whether you're "shiftless loser." That's YOUR characterization.
ReplyDeleteWell, Enty fished for rightwing lunacy and huge gigantic posts delivering teabag nonsense, and he got it.
ReplyDeleteOh, I think national healthcare would be lovely if it was handled with logic and common sense but this is the fucking US government we're talking about. It's going to be an epic pile of shit. Medicare and Medicaid already is.
ReplyDelete@Amartel -
ReplyDeleteI love how you're screaming "go read about nationalized healthcare" when half the people in this thread are people WHO HAVE ACTUALLY USED NATIONALIZED HEALTHCARE. I know more about my healthcare system than you do, because I've used it and you've only read about.
I went to a hospital in Toronto about 3 weeks ago for a minor thing. I got care in about 15 minutes, saw a doctor and two nurses. They even gave me a sandwich cause I came in right at around lunch time. When I left, I didn't even have to fill out any paperwork. Just nodded to the nurse, she smiled at me and I left and all was well in the world.
I could afford American health care, but I why would I pay for what I'm getting free?
I lived in Canada from 2004 until 2007. My experience was that people went to the hospital, saw doctors, visited emergency care clinics in the community and neighbourhood (I threw in a "u" to be respectful). Everything worked great. Even the conservative party supports the national healthcare system now. Then I came back to America and listened to rightwingers yammering about the evils of Canadian medicine, how no one could see a doctor, there was a five-year waiting list at every clinic, etc., etc. Long story short, rightwingers lie.
ReplyDelete