General Question

elbanditoroso's avatar

Who pays the hospital bill for the Marathon bomber?

Asked by elbanditoroso (33184points) April 22nd, 2013

It’s obvious that he won’t be covered under his student insurance policy.

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

29 Answers

chyna's avatar

Just curious as to why “it’s obvious he won’t be covered under his student insurance policy.”
If it’s paid up, why wouldn’t he be covered under it?

jonsblond's avatar

I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that doctors are tying to save his life and he’ll probably get the death penalty. I hope he talks (or writes).

janbb's avatar

@jonsblond We really need him alive so we can find out more about what they did and why.

SpatzieLover's avatar

@jonsblond I highly doubt he will get the death penalty. The talk already is for plea bargaining as was done in the case of Gabby Gifford’s shooter.

jonsblond's avatar

@janbb Oh, I know. But there’s no guarantee that he will talk and give the information that is needed.

bkcunningham's avatar

I know, @jonsblond. It is hard to get a grasp on in your mind. It is like a lady I just met and offered to give a ride to a doctor’s appointment last week. She’s in her late-70s, suffered three brain aneurisms in December-and, yes, I thought of you-and she can no longer drive.

I went into her house to meet her for the first time and the smell of cigarette smoke was revolting. It made my eyes water. As I helped her into my truck and reached around her frail 80 pound body to strap the seatbelt around her, the entire situation hit me in the heart. Why was I protecting her body from the threat of a collison when she was smoking like a chimney?

Buttonstc's avatar

Doctors and Nurses believe very strongly in the Hippocratic Oath and take it seriously.

I saw an interesting documentary years ago which interviewed medical personnel and patients located in one of the areas with the highest number of suicide bomber incidents. (around ten years ago there was a period of time where there were incidents almost daily).

They made no distinction between Israelis or Palestinians and did their damnedest trying to save each patient.

This was obviously very genuine and made a lasting impression upon Palestinians who were assuming worse treatment and greatly surprised that all the lies and horror stories they’d been told about Jews all their lives were not true.

But if you really want irony, consider the standard protocol at prisons prior to an execution. There is a round the clock watch on the prisoner to prevent suicide attempts :)

LeavesNoTrace's avatar

If he´s on his parent´s health insurance still (ObamaCare), wouldn´t that cover it

SpatzieLover's avatar

Israeli Doctors Treating Suspect

Pertinent article as to the type of care and concern the patient is being treated with.

bkcunningham's avatar

I knew the doctor who performed the surgery on Tojo after his attempted suicide. It was his job.

Jenniehowell's avatar

Obamacare? (the standard conservative answer hee hee)

@buttonstc you may be surprised if you were to read the full text of the Hippocratic Oath & then revisit the concept of whether or not you think doctors actually take it seriously or follow it much at all.

Jenniehowell's avatar

@Buttonstc for some reason the comment above didn’t tag you so I’m doing it again – see above.

augustlan's avatar

If his insurance doesn’t cover it, we will. Just as we do for every uninsured/under-insured person in the US.

answerjill's avatar

In Massachusetts, state law requires that you have health insurance. If you don’t, you get a penalty on your taxes.

flo's avatar

@Jenniehowell it was not tagged because the B wasn’t capitalized

SadieMartinPaul's avatar

He’s been gravely injured. Why, oh why, do so many Americans believe that medical care is a privilege rather than a fundamental human right?

bkcunningham's avatar

@SadieMartinPaul, unless you know of a place where hospitals, drug companies and medical personnel volunteer their services completely free, someone has to pay for that human right; regardless of the country where it is administered.

Ron_C's avatar

We all get a little bit of the bill. I would rather see a trial in his hospital room. If he’s found guilty we stop paying his bills and throw him out on his ear.

SadieMartinPaul's avatar

@bkcunningham Someone must pay to clean the water that I drink, to process the sewage that I produce, to maintain the excellent schools that my city offers, and to fund my alma mater, the University of Virginia. That would be me, plus the other able members of my community. I’m proud to pay my share.

By the way, as a resident of Massachusetts, Mr. Tsarnaev is required to have full insurance coverage. As a full-time student, he likely had little difficulty purchasing said insurance at a good price.

By the way, Mr. Tsarnaev hasn’t been convicted of any crime.

zenvelo's avatar

@answerjill has it right. He is covered by Romneycare; everyone in Mass. has health insurance.

Buttonstc's avatar

@Jenniehowell

I admit to not having read the Hippocratic oath in it’s entirety so maybe I have misplaced the origin of their actions. Perhaps it’s simply their innate professionalism or whatever one wants to call it but I stand by my statement in its essence.

It has been well documented in multiple places and times that medical professionals place the welfare of their patients paramount above politics, religion, government edicts and, at times, even their own lives. They are healers, not warriors or politicians, and that takes precedence over anything else.

The org. known as “Medicins sans Fromtieres” (Doctors Without Borders) is but one well known example but there are tons of others such as the documentary which I referenced (I hardly think that’s the type of thing one can put on “just for show” and then take if off like a mask)

So, if it’s not attributable to the oath, it’s definitely due to some ethos which they all share since it’s not coincidence.

(and any bunch has some bad apples, but I’m speaking about the vast majority and not the outliers.)

rooeytoo's avatar

I am more worried about who is paying for the funerals of the people he killed and the counseling for their losses than what kind of care he is getting. Did his student health care come with his scholarship?

bkcunningham's avatar

Excellent perspective, @rooeytoo. Great answer. Great question.

poofandmook's avatar

@SadieMartinPaul: So if you have all the evidence you need to prove that someone did something, you still need a court to say they did before you believe it?

SadieMartinPaul's avatar

@poofandmook Um, what I “believe” or don’t “believe” is irrelevant, and there’s no standard of proof until there’s been a legal proceeding.

poofandmook's avatar

Yes, because courts are NEVER wrong.

SadieMartinPaul's avatar

@poofandmook Yes, courts often result in imperfect outcomes, for both civil and criminal proceedings. This is one of the many reasons why I’m so vehemently opposed to the death penalty; I refuse to have naive and blind faith in the infallibility of government.

So, courts can be wrong. What’s your point? Would you advocate eliminating the judicial system and due process, and replacing both with “kangaroo courts,” lynch mobs, and other vigilante “justice”?

poofandmook's avatar

@SadieMartinPaul: No, but what I’m saying is that I think if the evidence is there, that evidence trumps a legal proceeding in determining guilt. You can have someone on videotape committing a crime, and they’ll still be ruled innocent due to a loophole or even just a bad lawyer. So just because Tsarnaev hasn’t been convicted of a crime, doesn’t mean he hasn’t committed a crime… and in any case, the point is irrelevant to who’s paying his medical expenses.

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