No medical bills for some Colo. shooting victims

[Tx4obama]

Source: AP

DENVER (AP) -- Three hospitals taking care of people wounded in the Colorado theater shooting say they will limit or completely wipe out medical bills for the victims.

Some victims, many of them young, are uninsured and face mounting hospital bills.

Children's Hospital Colorado announced Wednesday it would use donations to cover the medical expenses of the uninsured. For those who do have insurance, the hospital says it will waive all co-pays for shooting victims it is treating.

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.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_COLORADO_SHOOTING_MEDICAL_BILLS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-07-25-18-56-36

---

Looking forward to hearing what the two remaining hospitals have to say.

[warrior1]

1. Wow

That's what stepping up to the plate is all about. Good on them. Bravo!

[gopiscrap]

2. That is wonderful but this is what everyone

should have..NO MEDICAL BILLS UNIVERSAL SINGLE PAYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[calimary]

3. Agreed! It shouldn't take a national tragedy. That said, however, I'm really gratified

to see this. Putting heart above wallet.

Can't wait to hear from the teabaggers about how these victims somehow are morphed into lazy moochers.

[RedRocco]

12. too bad I couldn't have been there to be shot

I got some scary shit going on in my throat with no way to deal with it

[avaistheone1]

15. Yes, everyone should have universal single payer.

Last edited Wed Jul 25, 2012, 10:16 PM - Edit history (1)

[ailsagirl]

4. Very glad to hear that

I hope everyone who was wounded who doesn't have insurance will be able to do that.

[DaveJ]

5. Great, but looks like they are using donations

It's like when we donate money at the store and then see a sign at the end of year saying how much "the store" donated. It's the donors who should be thanked.

As of yesterday, givingfirst.org announced $2 million has already been raised. It's a great country we live in where we really care for one another in the face of violence. I wish the same were true all the time.

[Tx4obama]

8. That 2 million donated money will barely cover ONE PERSON.

The one man that is in the induced coma and in critical condition (and also lost his eye) his hospital bill they said the other day will top TWO MILLION alone.

So, yes we should thank the folks that donated - but I'm guessing what the hospitals write off will be MANY MANY MANY millions.

[DaveJ]

19. We can collectively support Caleb

I'm going to send a few dollars, and these days Facebook is a powerful tool, so I'm spreading the word:

https://www.facebook.com/supportcalebmedley

Since the victims were young it's not surprising some had no insurance.

[still_one]

6. Isn't that special, however, everyday someone falls upon the same thing, and usually it is assigned

To a collection agency

What in the hell is wrong with our government if basic healthcare cannot be provided without facing bankruptcy?

[woo me with science]

11. Thank you.

You nailed the REAL point here.

[kestrel91316]

7. Good. NONE of these victims should have to pay a single dime.

[hamsterjill]

10. And they should be able to concentrate on recovery

Not have to worry about bills, etc.

I hope there will be help, too, for the families whose loved ones were killed.

[FailureToCommunicate]

9. Liability insurance should be required of gun owners

Last edited Thu Jul 26, 2012, 01:39 PM - Edit history (1)

and enough to cover expenses of victims!

The lame policy offered by the NRA is "only for the member... and only if hunting...or going to a NRA event."

Gun violence victims: Nada

[Crunchy Frog]

18. You bring up a good point, and one I've always wondered about.

Why aren't gun owners required to carry real liability insurance? If guns in the aggregate are so safe, as gun proponents argue, then this insurance shouldn't be too burdensome when it's spread amongst all gun owners. But whenever I've broached that idea, I've gotten shot down (figuratively). There's something that I'm just not getting.

[LiberalEsto]

13. They should send the bills to the NRA

and as far as I'm concerned, the medical bills for each and every victim of similar shootings should be laid at the NRA's door too.

[Panasonic]

14. They should send out the massive millions of dollars in unpaid bills to NRA for gun violence that

they love to advocate, but run away when they have to deal with the issues.

Here's another thing - NRA should be paying over $2 million PER victim and $25 million PER life extinguished by Holmes. And finally dissolved as a right-wing crank.

[astonamous]

16. Will they also cover all the physical therapy,

mental therapy and ongoing medical bills these folks are going to need for the rest of their lives?

Don't get me wrong, I think the hospitals agreeing to wipe out or reduce the cost of care for these victims is a great thing but if we had universal health care it would ALL be covered and the doctors and hospitals wouldn't have to "donate" their resources and we could fund-raise for building an art space/memorial in the place of theater #9.

[area51]

17. +1 n/t

[reformist2]

20. This is a good example of how medicine is more a charity than a business.

[samsingh]

21. kick

[Posteritatis]

22. "some" (nt)

[JI7]

23. CNN was covering this with Anderson Cooper, people shouldn't have to beg, and an innocent person

will be shot again in this country . will that person's medical bills be waved also or just if it receives national attention.

i'm fine with people wanting to give money. like in the case of that bus driver who was bullied by those kids. it wasn't a case of need but people just wanting to do something for her.

and that would be fine in this case also if people want to raise money for victims . money they can use for things like vacation or anything else they want.

but they shouldn't have to rely on money being raised this way for medical bills. or hoping the hospital will not charge them.

and fucking idiots at CNN can't see the connection between these type of stories and health care policy debate.

[4th law of robotics]

24. That's nice and all but I don't see what makes their situation

on a personal level any different than a thousand other people.

You get shot and go bankrupt covering the bills: meh.

You and a bunch of other people get shot and risk bankrupcty: this will not stand!

[musical_soul]

25. That is really nice of them.

It's hard enough for people to recover without having to worry about bills. Good on the hospitals.

[KansDem]

26. "Some victims, many of them young, are uninsured and face mounting hospital bills."

What?!! No cheering from the right-wingers?

[wayne cloud]

27. hi.

Great! Thanks for the info. haven't heard of this before. Well, its good to know that [url=http://personalmoneynetwork.com/moneyblog/?s=hospital+bills]hospital bills[/url] will to pay for them immediately. =)

hospital bills

[Rhiannon12866]

28. I certainly agree, such a horrific situation. :(

Welcome to DU, wayne cloud! It's great to have you with us!