This reads like something out of Dickensian England, except it's Coffeyville, Kansas.
People put in debtors prisons, because they can't pay medical bills by a judge with no law degree taking orders from a debt collector who gets a cut of the bail money.
features.propublica.org/medical-debt/w…
People put in debtors prisons, because they can't pay medical bills by a judge with no law degree taking orders from a debt collector who gets a cut of the bail money.
features.propublica.org/medical-debt/w…
And it's not just happening in Kansas. "In Indiana, a cancer patient was hauled away from home in her pajamas in front of her three children; too weak to climb the stairs to the women’s area of the jail, she spent the night in a men’s mental health unit."
"In Utah, a man who had ignored orders to appear over an unpaid ambulance bill told friends he would rather die than go to jail; the day he was arrested, he snuck poison into the cell and ended his life."
In Coffeyville, one person, Kenneth Maggard, owes $2,000 "for a 40-mile ambulance ride last year. Maggard had downed most of a bottle of Purple Power Industrial Strength Cleaner, along with some 3M Super Duty Rubbing Compound, “to end it all. His sister had called 911."
In court, the debt collector, Michael Hassenplug, asks him if he is ever going to be able to repay the money.
“No, never,” says Maggard. “If I had the money, I’d pay it.”
Hassenplug replies, “Well, this will end when one of us dies.”
“No, never,” says Maggard. “If I had the money, I’d pay it.”
Hassenplug replies, “Well, this will end when one of us dies.”
In Kansas, a family of five does not qualify for Medicaid if they make more than $12,000 a year.
Tres and Heather Biggs have three children. Tres works 70 hours a week and makes $25,000. They don't have health insurance.
Tres and Heather Biggs have three children. Tres works 70 hours a week and makes $25,000. They don't have health insurance.
In 2008, their 6-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia. Heather has a serious heart condition. They racked up $70,000 in medical debt. They declared bankruptcy, but still owe court fees. To attend court, Tres has to miss work. He has been arrested more times than he can count.
I don't know one other developed country that puts people in jail for failure to pay debt.
There is something very rotten at the core of US society.
There is something very rotten at the core of US society.
PS. This is distinct from the practice of jailing people for unpaid fines, which still exists in most US states and in Australia and is just as despicable. Most fines are levied for minor offenses. theguardian.com/australia-news…
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