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[mellz]

Nice going USA.

Utah man’s tragic story highlights the failure of the current healthcare system, the importance of a single payer system, and a disturbing trend.

Rex Iverson died while in jail, but not for any criminal act. His only “crime” was poverty, and the inability to afford a $2,376.92 ambulance bill, let alone his bail.

According to the Elder County sheriff’s office, Iverson died at the age of 45 in a holding cell while police were booking him. An ongoing investigation by the Northern Utah Critical Incident Investigative team is ongoing, but authorities say that foul play is not suspected.

Iverson’s story highlights a disturbing trend–the arrest and imprisonment of poor people who cannot afford legal, medical, student, or other debts. His story parallels the recent arrest of Paul Aker in Texas for a nearly 30-year-old outstanding student loan debt of $1500. Aker was arrested by armed U.S. Marshals, taken to federal court, and forced to sign a payment plan for the loan.

The American Civil Liberties Union says that debtors’ prisons are unconstitutional:

“Ultimately, debtors’ prisons are not only unfair, but they are also illegal. Imprisoning someone because she cannot afford to pay court-imposed fines or fees violates the Fourteenth Amendment promises of due process and equal protection under the law.”

“You always have a percentage of the population who say, ‘Well, I ain’t going to do it,” said Chief Deputy Dale Ward. “We even offer to take payments.”

Tremonton city treasurer Sharri Oyler said that the city made attempts to garnish Iverson’s wages, “but he didn’t have a job, that we knew of.”

“How can you get blood out of a turnip?” Josh Daniels of the Utah-based Libertas Institute told Raw Story. “The thing about going to jail, your time does not pay your debt… A person should be obliged to pay, but putting him in jail doesn’t solve the problem.”

source: http://usuncut.com/class-war/utah-man-dies-in-police-custody-over-unpaid-medical-bill/

 

[Shuggananas]

Who needs healthcare anyway right

No info on the cause of his death ?

 

[Tesseract]

healthcare is a human right, this eats my soul

 

[Kysen]

2k ambulance bill wtf? Must have been driving across the continent.

 

[Juicy Bob]

And this is what the Tories want to do to us in the UK.

 

[Nephtis]

2k ambulance bill wtf? Must have been driving across the continent.

I know, right? Typically it's about $500 or so, unless they used a lot of equipment to keep the patient stable. They can get crazy expensive.

 

[Yagharek]

I wonder what our politicians will do to fix this.

Nothing.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F56cfSyWOkI (advise turning off annotations-_-)

Sad how many people are opposed to affordable health care for others

 

[Symphonia]

I hope every officer and official involved in this disgusting debacle are named, shamed, and fined accordingly. I say fined because we all know what they did was 'within their line of duty' or some other bull along those lines.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Why do they need his forced "consent", can't they just pawn his income if he's unable to pay and has no possessions they could pawn.

 

[Symphonia]

And this is what the Tories want to do to us in the UK.

The Tories are a bunch of cunts. That act will never pass.

 

[Professor Beef]

2k ambulance bill wtf? Must have been driving across the continent.

No...it was probably a (relatively) long drive to the hospital. Ambulance bills are no fucking joke. They're easily 10 times more expensive than the actual drugs used to keep you healthy in those things, and I'm speaking from experience.

 

[breakfuss]

This is a thing?? You can go to jail for outstanding debts? The hell.

 

[DiscoJer]

This is a thing?? You can go to jail for outstanding debts? The hell.

Like the student loan case, the direct cause is not showing up in court when you get sued over the debt, not the debt itself

http://www.standard.net/Courts/2016...ox-Elder-jail-was-there-for-not-paying-a-debt

On Christmas Eve 2013, the Bear River City man incurred an ambulance bill. Tremonton City won a justice court small claims judgment against Iverson in September 2014 that compelled him to pay the city $2,376.92.

He never paid the bill and ignored repeated court orders to appear, court records show. That led to a county sheriff’s deputy, serving a $350 bench warrant issued by the justice court on Dec. 29, 2015, arresting him on the morning of Saturday, Jan. 23.

Still crappy, but the reason was ignoring the judge which they really hate.

 

[devilhawk]

Like the student loan case, the direct cause is not showing up in court when you get sued over the debt, not the debt itself

http://www.standard.net/Courts/2016...ox-Elder-jail-was-there-for-not-paying-a-debt



Still crappy, but the reason was ignoring the judge which they really hate.

I'm shocked that the article in the OP failed to mention that.

This is USUNCUT.com we are talking about. No cutting.

 

[lednerg]

Like the student loan case, the direct cause is not showing up in court when you get sued over the debt, not the debt itself

http://www.standard.net/Courts/2016...ox-Elder-jail-was-there-for-not-paying-a-debt



Still crappy, but the reason was ignoring the judge which they really hate.

Tell me about it. Holy fuck, this is grim.

 

[Linkyn]

I know, right? Typically it's about $500 or so, unless they used a lot of equipment to keep the patient stable. They can get crazy expensive.

That is still ridiculously high. I had to go to the hospital for respiratory trouble last summer, and the ambulance ride + checkup amounted to less than 100 € (before reimbursement).

 

[daxy]

They don't suspect that foul play is involved? I wonder what the result of the investigation will be. Rather odd that someone would die while being incarcerated. There some responsibility to go around for failing to secure this person's well being while he was there.

 

[devilhawk]

That doesn't change the root of the problem hun.

You can get a summons for jaywalking or littering. Then get a warrant for not showing up and thus we could get the equivalent headline of:

DROPPED CANDYWRAPPER SENDS TEEN TO JAIL

Spoiler

hun

 

[DiscoJer]

That is still ridiculously high. I had to go to the hospital for respiratory trouble last summer, and the ambulance ride + checkup amounted to less than 100 € (before reimbursement).

Thanks to health insurance only reimbursing the hospital/amublance like 5-10% of the actual bill, they jack up the prices.by 10-20x

Of course, if you aren't a health insurance company (or the government), you have to pay the full, inflated price

 

[TAJ]

Still crappy, but the reason was ignoring the judge which they really hate.

Do they even have proof that this guy knew there was a court case?
I don't know anything about this guy, but I'm picturing trying to serve a summons to a homeless person.

 

[Oberon]

What are the arguments against a good healthcare systeme again?
Except "We ain't no red commi pigs!"

 

[breakfuss]

Like the student loan case, the direct cause is not showing up in court when you get sued over the debt, not the debt itself

http://www.standard.net/Courts/2016...ox-Elder-jail-was-there-for-not-paying-a-debt



Still crappy, but the reason was ignoring the judge which they really hate.

Ahhhh ok. Thank you for explaining.

 

[Shuggananas]

What are the arguments against a good healthcare systeme again?
Except "We ain't no red commi pigs!"

Those goddamn poor people don't deserve it or something
Also don't tax the rich because I might be rich someday who knows

 

[Darth Karja]

Why do they need his forced "consent", can't they just pawn his income if he's unable to pay and has no possessions they could pawn.

Article said they tried that, but he didn't have a job.

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

Nobody plans to get sick. It can happen to anybody. Godfuckkingdammit

 

[thehypocrite]

healthcare is a human right, this eats my soul

This. RIP. Died for being too poor.

 

[Vicetrailia]

Half of America will smile when they hear this story.

 

[Tesseract]

Half of America will smile when they hear this story.

 

[PetriP-TNT]

But remember, that $2,376.92 could have gone out of YOUR wallet if Obamacareblahblahblah

 

[Charles Brandon]

Debtors' prisons used to be quite common in Victorian times. Charles Dickens' father was in one and that event inspired much of his work. Seems odd that the US is now reviving the custom .

 

[Devilgunman]

Healthcare in US is atrocious. Everything is so expensive. To live here, you better

- not get seriously ill
- if you're really sick, you better have health insurance
- if you want insurance, you better keep you job
- got laid off? Now time to pay arms and legs for those stupid insurance
- don't want to pay insurance? Go to fckin jail since you can't afford medical bills

Not sure why everything has to be expensive. Stay overnight at ER is $1000. Pull a tooth out $500. Giving birth $30,000. I can get those done with 1/10th of the cost without insurance in Asia.

 

[McLovin]

2k ambulance bill wtf? Must have been driving across the continent.

My mom needed one to drive her a few blocks, got a $1,500 bill.

 

[TheShocker]

He was not arrested for an unpaid bill. He was found to be in contempt of the court for failing to appear after a summons was issued. Failure to appear in court often times leads to an arrest warrant being issued.

Here is a similar case that outlines the process:

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/16/pf/college/arrested-student-loan-marshals/

Not saying this is right or wrong, but just pointing out some facts not included in the original article.

 

[thehypocrite]

He was not arrested for an unpaid bill. He was found to be in contempt of the court for failing to appear after a summons was issued. Failure to appear in court often times leads to an arrest warrant being issued.

Here is a similar case that outlines the process:

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/16/pf/college/arrested-student-loan-marshals/

Not saying this is right or wrong, but just pointing out some facts not included in the original article.

Still dead for being poor. Why do you think he was summoned to court? For unpaid medical bills. Sometimes context is important, in cases like this, it just takes away from the key issue.

 

[TheShocker]

Have you read the thread? This has already been posted.

Ok?

And hardly discussed. It was talked about in a handful of posts and the rest were in reaction to the original article. The CNN article outlines the process in which these events happen in a little more detail. I just thought it would be beneficial for anyone reading this thread and wondering how the process works.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Article said they tried that, but he didn't have a job.

Then how did they expect to ever see money from this guy anyway? Just had to eat their loss there, civilians have to do it all the time if they were wronged by someone who can't afford reimbursement.

 

[MilkyJoe]

Land of the freeeeeee....

Spoiler

As far from free as you can get without spoiling the illusion

 

[Tesseract]

think about how lowly, how meek an existence this saps life must've been.

we need like, a great larry david moral detective agency.

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

How much is the court costs for showing up to court though? Do you go to jail if you can't pay it on the spot or is it a separate bill?

 

[jufonuk]

And this is what the Tories want to do to us in the UK.

fuck that , I don't want that, save the NHS.

shit if the Tories do it, not only will UK be out the EU, BBC will be a shell of its former self and the NHS no more..

oh and TTIP. aaaaaaaaargh noooooooo

 

[executor]

I often think that US is the future and here (Italy) is the past but when I read those news I'm glad to live in the past... Never tought about the possibility of paying for a ride in an ambulance......

 

[andythinkpad]

Do they even have proof that this guy knew there was a court case?
I don't know anything about this guy, but I'm picturing trying to serve a summons to a homeless person.

Some people just don't read their mail. I deal with unpaid power utility accounts and turn off meters all day.

 

[Machina]

Amerriicaaaaaaa.......Amerriiicaaaaaa...

 

[Aldebaran]

And there are people who still defend paid healthcare.

 

[TomServo]

And there are people who still defend paid healthcare.

I'm LOLbertarian at my core, but even I accept the practical need for universal health care.

I've felt this way for a very long time, but as if I needed a reminder, I ended up on an ambulance ride to the ER last year. The prices I paid for all of the services were so clearly inflated multiple times over their actual costs that it was obvious that I was paying for the people that use the same services but can't / won't / don't pay.

The reality is that we're already paying for each other's care. We may as well put it into law.

 

[Brazil]

How can you arrest someone for something like this?

This entire episode was absurd from the get-go.

RIP guy :/

 

[aeolist]

healthcare is a human right, this eats my soul

poor people aren't humans to the right wing

 

[Stanng243]

healthcare is a human right, this eats my soul

Healthcare is not a basic right.

 

[sechsterangriff]

Healthcare is not a basic right in the US

Fixed that for you.