Aurora Shooting Victims: No Medical Bills, Free Care, For Survivors At Some Colorado Hospitals - Polidicks

[QUOTE]DENVER — Some of the victims fighting for their lives after being wounded in the movie-theater shooting rampage may face another challenge when they get out of the hospital: enormous medical bills without the benefit of health insurance. [B]Members of the public, along with Warner Bros., the studio that released the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises," have contributed nearly $2 million to help victims, [/B]though it's not clear how much of that will cover medical expenses. One family is raising money on its own online. [B]And three of the five hospitals treating victims said Wednesday they will limit or completely wipe out medical bills.[/B] Some of the victims, however, still face a long recovery ahead and the associated medical costs – without health insurance. There's no exact count of how many of them don't have insurance but statistics suggest many of them might not be covered.Nearly one in three Coloradans, or about 1.5 million, either have no health insurance or have coverage that is inadequate, according to a 2011 report by The Colorado Trust, a health care advocacy group. The highest uninsured rate was among adults between 18 and 34 and many of those injured in the shootings are in that age group. State officials said they are not sure whether any of the victims qualify for emergency Medicaid assistance available to needy patients. Victims could also get financial assistance from a state program that helps people hurt during crimes, including lost wages and counseling. Among the uninsured victims of the movie-theater attack is a 23-year-old aspiring comic, Caleb Medley, who is in critical condition with a head wound and whose wife, Katie, gave birth to their first child, Hugo, on Tuesday. His family and friends said they have set a goal of raising $500,000 to cover his hospital bills and other expenses and were over halfway there on Wednesday."All the money that is donated is going straight to Caleb, Katie and Hugo to help them with medical bills, getting back on their feet, help with the baby items," friend Michael West said. "Anything and everything that they need." [B]Children's Hospital Colorado announced it would use donations and its charity care fund to cover the medical expenses of the uninsured. For those who do have insurance, the hospital says it will waive all co-pays. [/B] "We are committed to supporting these families as they heal," according to a statement from the hospital, which treated six shooting victims. HealthOne, which owns the Medical Center of Aurora and Swedish Medical Center, also says it will limit or eliminate charges based on the individual circumstances of the patients. Those hospitals have treated 22 shooting victims. However, the company cautioned its policy may not apply to all doctors working in its hospitals.The other two hospitals, Denver Health Medical Center and University of Colorado Hospital, where Medley is, wouldn't directly say whether they would assist shooting victims. However, they are the state's top two safety net hospitals and provided combined $750 million in free care in 2011.Hospitals are required by federal law to stabilize patients during emergencies without regard to their ability to pay." The issue most probably facing the hospitals and patients in a situation like Aurora is what comes after `stabilization,'" said Dr. Howard Brody, director of the Institute for the Medical Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and a frequent critic of excessive medical costs. [B]"Many of these people I assume will need prolonged and expensive rehabilitation after their immediate injuries are dealt with, and that seems precisely what hospitals today are less and less willing to cover out of their own funds, and no law requires that they do so, as far as I am aware," he said.[/B] Medley is in a medically induced coma, but West said he has been showing signs of improvement, relying less on a ventilator to breathe. Medley's wife, 21-year-old Katie Medley, gave birth on Tuesday, one floor above his room at University of Colorado Hospital.Standup comedian Gabriel Iglesias, who has appeared on Comedy Central, planned to headline a Denver fundraiser for Medley next week. The fundraising might actually make Medley ineligible for some income-related assistance. His family and all other victims are already meeting with victim advocates, the case workers who deal with people hurt during crimes. The advocates determine what services they need and what assistance they qualify for." We have individuals who will need a lifetime of care, or a lifetime of accommodation, and our job is to make sure those needs are met," said Karla Maraccini, deputy director for community partnerships in the office of Gov. John Hickenlooper.[/QUOTE] [URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/25/aurora-shooting-medical-bills-_n_1704209.html?1343264789&icid=maing-grid7|aim|dl1|sec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D184191"]Source[/URL]

That's really good to hear. It's great to see so much support being offered to the victims by both the community and the hospitals.

People who where targets of attempted murder shouldn't have to pay medical bills.

Good news for that guy that got shot in the eye.

Hospitals not caring about money?! Hold on, gotta check if Colorado is [i]actually[/i] in the real world.

[quote]And three of the five hospitals treating victims said Wednesday they will limit or completely wipe out medical bills.[/quote] Holy shit that's nice of them.

I hope that guy who got shot in the eye will benefit from this too :smile:

this shouldn't be news in the first place. this shouldn't be an issue for anyone.

Kind of a dick move for all the other people in hospitals without health insurance tbh, just because these peoples injuries have been in the news they get off better.

Yeah lets give them privileged care because the media made the story huge.

Good, now if only we could get it so that the price of health care in general was none/minuscule. Still, this is a really good thing.

Finally some nice and sane news for once.

Nice that they're doing this, sad that they had to

[QUOTE=ThaBoss;36942473]Kind of a dick move for all the other people in hospitals without health insurance tbh, just because these peoples injuries have been in the news they get off better.[/QUOTE] I have to agree. It's incredibly generous and fortunate that these people get free care, but what makes them more special than any other injured/dying person?

So because some madman shot them, something they have little to no control over, they should be forced to go into a lifelong debt? This is exactly why public health care is needed and good for the people and why for example the majority (if not all. I don't know honestly) of the European countries has it.

Wow its like a little bit of Europe for a select few Americans, and all it needed was 2012 years and a deadly shootout! BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD! Edit:// inb4 patriots dumbing me. I don't care, you know it's true.

It's kind of them, but the cynic in me wants to say they're doing this in such a high profile case so they can say "look, we're nice, we don't need reform!"

[QUOTE=JCDentonUNATCO;36943071]I have to agree. It's incredibly generous and fortunate that these people get free care, but what makes them more special than any other injured/dying person?[/QUOTE] Hospital can't just up and not charge anyone anymore. It's still a kind gesture, and I don't know why people are actually making complaints about it. These arguments are dangerously close in proximity to "If everyone can't have it, nobody should." [editline]26th July 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Pr0fane;36945062]Wow its like a little bit of Europe for a select few Americans, and all it needed was 2012 years and a deadly shootout! BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD! Edit:// inb4 patriots dumbing me. I don't care, you know it's true.[/QUOTE] Yes it took the United States 2012 years to waive hospital fees for someone. Good thinking.

[QUOTE=Pr0fane;36945062]Wow its like a little bit of Europe for a select few Americans, and all it needed was 2012 years and a deadly shootout! BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD! Edit:// inb4 patriots dumbing me. I don't care, you know it's true.[/QUOTE] you do realise that the US has only been around for 236 years right

Right on. I think victims of the crime that put them in a hospital shouldn't have to pay the medical bills

The fact that people have to rely on the goodwill of the people or hospitals to get medical attention is disgusting.

[QUOTE=Fear_Fox;36943433]So because some madman shot them, something they have little to no control over, they should be forced to go into a lifelong debt? [/QUOTE] yeah and everyone else has complete control when they get diseases

what strikes me as awesome here is the fact that warner brothers gave the hospitals money, when they didn't need to, and no one asks them to. That gives them +10000 respect to me.

[QUOTE=Pr0fane;36945062]Wow its like a little bit of Europe for a select few Americans, and all it needed was [B]2012 years[/B] and a deadly shootout![/QUOTE] How messed up is your knowledge of world history

[QUOTE=deanpfr;36942041]People who where targets of attempted murder shouldn't have to pay medical bills.[/QUOTE] You would be surprised about the amount of people who think otherwise.

Socialists!

This is awesome. Since I heard of the shooting I thought it'd be awesome for the producers of the film to help out the victims, and lo, it was so. Suddenly this planet is awesome again.

What the fuck? Good for them but how unfair is that for every other victim who gets stuck with medical bills...

So if I get sick I guess I should just find a mass shooting to be involved in.

[QUOTE=Kybalt;36942350]this shouldn't be news in the first place. this shouldn't be an issue for anyone.[/QUOTE] Yeah, I still sort of taken back that this is something those people would have to potentially deal with. I guess we're spoiled over the big pond. [QUOTE=MightyMax;36946755]what strikes me as awesome here is the fact that warner brothers gave the hospitals money, when they didn't need to, and no one asks them to. That gives them +10000 respect to me.[/QUOTE] Tax deductible PR? And if not PR, it's negative PR avoidance.