Wednesday, March 17, 2010

About that sob story... [UPDATED]

What is it with the folks behind government-run health care that they keep putting up fake "victims" of our current system? Natoma Canfield joins The Frost Family in the growing pantheon of "victims" that really aren't:

"[T]he cancer-stricken woman who has become a centerpiece of President Obama's push for health care reform, will not lose her home over her medical bills and will probably qualify for financial aid."

Turns out, Ms Canfield most likely qualifies for Medicaid, and of course there are any number of other state-run programs available to assist her. Not only that, but the provider, Cleveland Clinic, had already begin working with her regarding the funding of her care at that facility.

While this of course illustrates the perfidy of those bent on destroying the world's best health care system, it also highlights the fact that so many eligible folks don't avail themselves of the gummint-run programs that already exist.

There's the scandal.

[Hat Tip: FoIB Sarah S]


UPDATE: In the comments, Bob points out something I initially missed: "she had health insurance before she developed cancer, then voluntarily dropped the coverage." But it's actually even more muddled than that: in her letter to the president, she claimed that "with a maximum deductible of $2,500 she had to pay about $10,000 for care in 2009 -- while her insurance company paid just over $900."

And just as in the Frost case cited above, the White House and the media take her at her word. On its face, this claim makes no sense: if she had a generic co-pay plan, then her maximum out-of-pocket should have been in the $3500 to $4500 range; if it was an HSA style plan, even less. Under what kind of circumstances would she have had to pony up over $10,000 to the carrier's $900?

We don't know, but it's certainly a critical piece of information.
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