Affordable health care is more elusive than the Loch Ness Monster. At least we know for a fact good ol’ Nessie exists. Health care plans, especially for the self-employed or unemployed, can only be had for some ridiculous monthly fee or containing ridiculous coverage – like only being covered for emergency care if you’re dragged 52 miles by a rambling bus.
Arizona may be getting an even harsher dose of the health care-free environment with a proposed enrollment freeze on state-funded Medicaid, although folks are not eligible in the first place if they make more than about 20 cents every other Tuesday.
While crossing your fingers and avoiding bus stops might at a glance seem like the only remedy, one guy in North Carolina found another one. He’s accused of robbing a bank just so he could go to jail and receive free medical care, according to Associated Press and Orange News reports.
James Verone, a 59-year-old unemployed guy with serious health care issues, reportedly walked into a Gastonia, N.C., bank June 9 and handed the teller a note demanding a single $1. He then had a seat and waited for police to come arrest him. He was charged with one count of larceny and held in lieu of a $2,000 bond. No surprisingly he did not want to pay the bond and instead stayed put in Gaston County jail so he could receive his needed medical treatment.
It really has come down to this.