penguinsix

Ok, that's a bit of an exaggerated headline, but I thought this article in today's NYTimes was a bit spooky.

Basically a hospital was stuck with an illegal immigrant because no nursing home would accept him without proper insurance. He stayed in the hospital and ran up a $1.5 million bill (which would never be paid) so the hospital went to court, rented an air ambulance for $30,000 and flew him back to Guatemala where they basically left him.

Yikes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/us/03deport.html

Ray

Interesting story ..certainly no easy answer to that one ...

scrubbedexpat099

If he had Travel Insurance, then no doubt the Insurers would have repatriated him.

Sounds fair enough.

augigi

Do you think many illegal immigrants take out travel insurance?

scrubbedexpat099

I prefer the term Undocumented Americans.

As no one seems to have a real concept of the numbers involved, I doubt if the subset of those with Insurance is known either. Travel or Medical, or Auto for that matter, this involved a car crash.

But from my younger days we repatriated many people who were seriously injured in the US, the only difference here seems to be that the Hospital paid for it, not an Insurance Company.

md95065

Interesting.

Would you feel differently about this story if the illegal immigrant had been British and the hospital had shipped him back to an NHS hospital in the UK?

MsElui

Its a tough one. I dont blame the hospital for not wanting to have an endless bed filled with someone who wont be paying, it puts the costs up for everyone. I can understand why the care homes wont take him on either. It seems like the government should stop ignoring the situation and make a ruling about cases like these - maybe they cover the costs under medicare - or make proper medical repatriation agreements with the countries concerned etc. Seems like its a hole in government policy that cases like these are falling down the cracks into.

Manc

this made the news because it happened to an immigrant.

This also happens every day to US Citizens whom cannot pay.
Granted, they don't get sent to Guatemala, just a cab ride to the local Salvation Army.

scrubbedexpat099

I am sure it has.

And absoultely not.

If one of my Family was here and got sick and a US Hospital paid for them to go home, I would be saying thank you.

Tracym

Actually a friend of mine is a nurse in Florida and was involved in a very very similar case. She told me about it in detail, as we had planned to write it up as a case study.

He was an illigal immigrant, and had cancer, and the hospital treated him both inpatient and outpatient for many months (perhaps even over a year).

Finally, he was terminal, and the sister he was living with didn't want to take care of him. Of course, a nursing home wouldn't take him.

The hospital arranged for him to contact family members back in Mexico, and like the newspaper case, paid for him to get there.

However, he wanted to go home.

Deedee13

why didnt they get in touch with homeland security? confused..

Angela and Brett

Whatever happened to:

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"?

I think every human should be able to recieve treatment and diginity. I mean how can they live with themselves sending a terminal patient where they do not want to go to die.

We print our own money, just make some more.

Tracym

I guess they wanted him to die at home, and to get their in some safe relatively comfortable fashion. Not be detained.

But you have an interesting question - I'll try to remember to ask my friend next time we talk. She and the social worker were the ones that arranged it I believe.

Angela and Brett

I suppose I just assume they were here because they didn't want to be in thier home country.

It's difficult because health situations drain finances but if other countrys manage it why can't the U.S., we are one of the Super Powers?

It kills me when I used to see a breakdown on my U.S. hospital bills, like $20 for a tube, $10 for an aspirin type things, it always made me laugh because if you just would go buy the stuff at a local drug store it would be cheaper.

Marocco

Unfortunately the selfish doctors and nurses want to get paid in return for their work.
Be careful. You can end up in jail for that.