Parents of boy who died of cancer held on $150,000 bond

[jaysunb]

There must be more to this, but ....

Prosecutors said that when Willie developed a lump on his neck, complained of intense pain and begged to see a doctor, the parents claimed they couldn't afford it, and did nothing.

But when their pit bull, Petey, was scratching, Robinson and Hussing took him to a veterinarian and paid the $87.18 bill for flea treatments, prosecutors said.

story here:
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/03/cleveland_the_parents_accused_1.html

[dflprincess]

1. You can't walk into an emergency room for $87.18

Not that that excuses the parents for not looking for help for their son, but I really don't think the prosecutors comment makes much sense either.

[NeedleCast]

2. It Doesn't...it's hyperbole

Bad reporting, but that seems to be the norm these days.

[TommyO]

3. The prosecutor's comment about parental neglect?

it makes perfect sense, they didn't seek medical care for their child. His death was likely preventable with medical care.

[jaysunb]

7. Correct

I don't the emergrncy rooms ask for money up front & if any Doctor or medical professional had seen this kids condition it would have been dealt w/ immediately.

[originalpckelly]

12. Exactly, they would at least diagnose him without requiring payment first...

and you can't tell me some charity wouldn't step up to help out a kid with a very curable form of cancer.

[dflprincess]

14. One trip to the ER won't cure cancer

and once the ER is done with the patient, the hospital will start demanding payment and demand it before treatment is given if the parents don't have insurance or their credit is bad.

The government estimates that 18,000 (and I imagine that's a low estimate) people die prematurely every year from manageable or curable conditions because they don't have health insurance. Being a child does not protect you from not having insurance, no matter what your parents do or don't do for you (unless they take hostages like Denzel Washington did in "John Q").

[originalpckelly]

19. Yes, but they didn't even take him to get diagnosed.

That's the problem him.

[area51]

33. Probably 100,000 die here per year,

due to the lack of healthcare availability. That's 273 people dying in the U.S. per day, while congressional fatcats sit back with their guaranteed, better-quality, affordable healthcare and do nothing.

[polmaven]

4. I'm quite sure there must be "Community Health Centers"

in Cleveland. These are non-profit health centers designed to treat anyone, regardless of ability to pay. They are partially Fed funded and usually partially State funded. I will research this once I am at home after work, I'll wager that is not an argument they can use.

[dflprincess]

6. Many of those clinics have sliding fee scales

In theory, the fees are based on the ability to pay. However, if there is any state or federal money involved, you can bet what the salary limits bear absolutely no relation to reality:

as an example:

http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/DSS/Services+for+Seniors+and+the+Disabled/Common+Questions/90faq+medicaid.htm

What is the income limit for a single person or a couple?

The income limit for full Medicaid is $798 for a single person and $1070 for a couple. If income exceeds these limits, the individual or couple must meet a medical deductible before he is eligible for full Medicaid. The deductible is the amount of income over the income limit. A deductible can be for 1, 2 or 3 months before the month of application or for a period of 6 months beginning with the month of application.

[polmaven]

15. I have been a member

of a volunteer Board of Directors for a local CHC since 1992. The sliding fee scale is actually based on ability to pay, and, believe it or not, does bear relationship to reality at the centers. Many of the patients are actually treated WITHOUT cost to them. Medicare/Medicaid is NOT necessary. Deductibles are NOT considered in those cases.

The best place to look is at the National League of Community Health Centers web site.

What I'm saying is - I guess - this was their SON! If they could afford to pay for a vet, they could afford a small, sliding scale fee to have him seen by a doctor.

I did look it up, btw...There are 3 Community Health Centers in Cleveland.

Oh - and they are QUALIFIED doctors....not hacks.

[dflprincess]

24. In my limited experience -

(100 years ago back when I was doing social work) it seemed that doctors who worked at community clinics often had better reputations than others in private practice. I've always assumed that's because they're more interested in practicing medicine than in making money. Of course, those doctors also didn't have someone breathing down their necks telling them how much time they could spend with a patient so they also had the time to practice.

I don't agree with what these parents did - but there is some denial here about what our current health "care" system can do to people. Aslo, it is not always easy to find out what resources are available unless you know who and what to ask.

[originalpckelly]

11. OF COURSE NOT! They didn't even try! That's the point here...

they neglected this poor child, and everyone is just trying to remold this case into a political talking point.

[originalpckelly]

8. The point is that when the dog was itching, he went to a vet.

When the kid was in excruciating pain and dying from one of the most curable forms of cancer, the parents didn't even take him to a free clinic or something. Even if they knew what he had, and could afford it, they still could have taken him to a doctor to find out. And do you REALLY think if they had gone to a local TV station about this, requesting help, that there wouldn't be total payment of the kid's bills ASAP?

I don't think so.

[tammywammy]

17. Agreed! n/t

[cali]

18. I don't think money is the only point the prosecutor is making he

it seems to be more about how the parents seemed more concerned about their dog than their kid.

[Warpy]

5. If they're uninsured, they're easy to understand

and I blame every Congressman who collected a salary over the past 50 years while doing nothing about universal health care.

[originalpckelly]

10. FUCK NO! NO NORMAL PARENT DOES THAT!

Good GOD! I can't believe how tolerant of child neglect we are in this country. What about SCHIP? Did they even try to find some kind of government help?

[cali]

21. no kidding. it disgusts me beyond measure to see

people making excuses for this and blaming it on the government. it's beyond repulsive.

[Liberal_in_LA]

26. RIGHT! Take them to the emergency room! Financial worries don't trump health care for kids

FOR A BIG LUMP ON HIS THROAT! We aren't talking about a sneeze.

[originalpckelly]

27. That poor kid had to have suffered so much pain.

:cry:

Why are people so mean to their kids? :-(

[Liberal_in_LA]

28. I wonder how much pain the parents would have endured before THEY went to the emerg room

[cali]

20. they sur e the are not easy to understand and I blame them- the repulsive fucks

even if there was universal health care there's exactly zero evidence these pieces of shit would have taken their child for care.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

29. I can't understand any sane person ignoring a child begging for help.

[Mike 03]

9. My only comment: Tragic, because Hodgkin's Lymphoma is often curable. NT

[TommyO]

16. Correct, it has a 91.6% five year survival rate for patients under 45

Source: http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page.adp?item_id=8312

For patients under 20, the rage jumps to 95.3%

[Liberal_in_LA]

13. NONE of the kids were going to school or getting medical care

Poverty (in America) is no excuse for not sending your kids to school or doctor.

[cali]

22. ding. ding. ding.

there is NO excuse for the behavior of these "parents".

[jaysunb]

25. My thoughts exactly

This was not the behavior of loving parents. But there have been cases in the past where the parents religious beliefs kept them from getting their kids proper medical attention. I doubt that's the case here....:evilfrown:

[uppityperson]

30. "Poverty (in America) is no excuse for not sending your kids to...doctor" but it happens

Sadly, it does happen. We need to somehow get enough health care and information about it to everyone to avoid this sort of tragic stuff.

Yes, it is no excuse but for some it is a reality. Not saying these people get a pass, as they don't, but yes, for many who are poverty level, it happens.

[Ms. Toad]

23. They seem to have scrubbed the story

I can't find a reference to the dog anywhere in the story.

[FedUpWithIt All]

31. They could have gotten the boy care. Metro-health has a free program for low income families.

Every emergency room visit can be waived by low income families. The emergency rooms take in anyone regardless of ability to pay and they provide info about the waiver option.

This boy did not have to die.

[jaysunb]

32. Correct & that's the reason for prosecution n/t