Yes, things are so out-of-control, especially for the mentally ill, certainly among our most vulnerable citizens, that Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky DelGadillo, as part of a settlement against Los Angeles College Hospital, was forced to establish what is being called a "Patient Safety Zone".
The Patient Safety Zone will prohibit hospitals from abandoning and dumping discharged psychiatric patients on streets around skid row.
The collapsed state of affairs in our country defies belief. Hospitals (where people go for help), need to be sued then directed and told: "patient dumping is immoral, patient dumping cannot happen in a civilized society, this is illegal, you cannot do this!" Am I nuts? How is it that most of us know right from wrong, but hospitals need to be sued, fined and admonished to do the right thing?
This sad and depraved story goes right into the "you can't make this stuff up" Hall of Fame. Do you laugh or cry or just hang your head in shame?
College Hospital to pay $1.6 million in homeless dumping settlement
L.A. city attorney's office says the hospital left more than 150 mentally ill patients on skid row streets. The hospital denies wrongdoing in what prosecutors say is their biggest dumping case to date.
Doctors at College Hospital diagnosed Steven Davis as suffering from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder. Doctors at the Costa Mesa mental institution prescribed him numerous drugs to deal with paranoid delusions that had led to an earlier suicide attempt.
But that didn't stop the hospital from hauling Davis into a van and driving him more than 40 miles north to downtown L.A., where they dropped him off outside the Union Rescue Mission. When mission officials complained to the hospital, the van returned and drove Davis a few miles south to another shelter. Davis wandered away without ever entering.
. . .As part of the settlement, the hospital will pay $1.6 million in penalties and charitable contributions to a host of psychiatric and social-service agencies. The hospital also agreed to a first-of-its-kind injunction that prohibits it from transporting any homeless psychiatric patient discharged from their facilities to the streets or any shelter within an established "Patient Safety Zone," a swath of downtown and South Los Angeles where most of the region's homeless shelters and missions are concentrated.
http://www.latimes.com/...
Now, let's take another spin of the Think You're Insured, Think Again Roulette Wheel.
Consumer Reports has a frightening new study which reveals (again), that tens of millions of Americans, especially those of us with individual insurance, are woefully and dangerously underinsured.
My intention of course, is not to further scare, but to let everyone know that for-profit insurance is a guarantee of exactly nothing.
Hazardous health plans
Coverage gaps can leave you in big trouble
Many people who believe they have adequate health insurance actually have coverage so riddled with loopholes, limits, exclusions, and gotchas that it won’t come close to covering their expenses if they fall seriously ill, a Consumer Reports investigation has found.
. . .For our investigation, we hired a national expert to help us evaluate a range of real policies from many states and interviewed Americans who bought those policies. We talked to insurance experts and regulators to learn more. Here is what we found:
* Heath insurance policies with gaping holes are offered by insurers ranging from small companies to brand-name carriers such as Aetna and United Healthcare. And in most states, regulators are not tasked with evaluating overall coverage.
* Disclosure requirements about coverage gaps are weak or nonexistent. So it’s difficult for consumers to figure out in advance what a policy does or doesn’t cover, compare plans, or estimate their out-of-pocket liability for a medical catastrophe. It doesn’t help that many people who have never been seriously ill might have no idea how expensive medical care can be.
* People of modest means in many states might have no good options for individual coverage. Plans with affordable premiums can leave them with crushing medical debt if they fall seriously ill, and plans with adequate coverage may have huge premiums.
* There are some clues to a bad policy that consumers can spot. We tell you what they are, and how to avoid them if possible.
* Even as policymakers debate a major overhaul of the health-care system, government officials can take steps now to improve the current market.
http://www.consumerreports.org/...
And you think it can't get any worse, well it can. Here's more horrifying news. Say you're one of the few Americans still employed, and still enjoying some degree of employer paid health benefits. You get sick, guess what happens? You may get fired.
Star saleswoman, facing health crisis, axed
Insurance battle followed firing
WASHINGTONVILLE — Five months ago, Rose Camilleri was a superstar at the Zales outlet at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets.
In November, the diminutive grandmother with an Italian accent was flown to Dallas, home of Zales' headquarters, where she was honored with a 1-carat diamond necklace for making $1 million in sales last year.
"This is not only the first time that Woodbury has EVER had a million dollar producer," raved a Zales manager in an e-mail, "but is the FIRST time for the Northeast region as well!!! ... Congratulations on your UNBELIEVABLE accomplishment that you worked so hard to achieve!!! ... I love and appreciate you SOOOOOOOO much and I can't wait to get to your store to give you a BIG hug!!!"
For more information
It was the fifth diamond Camilleri had earned during 4½ years at Zales, where she received nearly a dozen commendations.
. . .But in early March, Camilleri developed bronchitis and went for a chest X-ray and an MRI. Her doctor discovered an aortic aneurysm, a weakness in the wall of the aorta, which, without prompt treatment, might rupture and cause quick death.
Surgery postponed
Camilleri told Zales she would need surgery as soon as possible.
"I told my manager I can't get upset because it could explode any minute," she said. "I typed up a letter asking for time off and guidance from human resources."
One week later, on March 14, she was asked to attend a meeting with a new regional manager.
"He said, 'You're terminated,'" Camilleri recalled. "I tried to keep myself very calm because I knew something could happen to me. I said, 'You're joking — you've never been in my store.' He said, 'It's the best thing.'"
http://www.recordonline.com/...
Being fired or terminated by an employer after being diagnosed with an illness happens more often than any of us would care to imagine. Apparently it's even legal. Read it and weep.