Yes, it's another one of those stories about some desperate soul who tries to get arrested -- in this case, again -- in order to be allowed access to health care. You know, a basic human need...and right.
In this story, Frank J. Morrocco, who had already served 20 years in prison and was released, shoplifted $23 worth of items in order to be sent back to prison:
On the night of Nov. 26, a man walked into a Wegmans store on Alberta Drive in Amherst, where he stepped up to a counter and began stuffing shoelaces, a pair of sandals, a small stuffed animal and other miscellaneous items worth a total of $23 into a shopping basket.
Making sure the cashier and other people in the store saw him, the man then walked out of the store without paying. A few minutes later, Amherst police arrested him on a shoplifting charge.
The man was Frank J. Morrocco, an Amherst resident who was convicted of felony drug conspiracy charges in the 1990s and released from federal prison last December after serving 20 years. He suffers from a rare form of leukemia.
Morrocco said he intentionally got himself arrested in hopes that a federal judge would send him to prison for a violation of supervised release.
That way, Morrocco said, he would be able to get “prison health care that is very good” – health care that he says he cannot afford as a free man.
Morrocco makes 'too much' (i.e. not much at all) to qualify for Medicaid:
Morrocco said social workers at local hospitals have tried to help him find a health care company that would take him on as a client. The fact that he works – as an independent contractor, going to auctions and buying cars for local car dealers – and has saved a modest amount of money makes it impossible for him to get government coverage under Medicaid.
“I’ve been denied [Medicaid] and also was denied Social Security disability coverage. I was told it was because I have more than $2,500 in assets,” Morrocco said. “I do have more than $2,500 in assets, but I am not a wealthy man. I barely get by, and I can’t afford the $500 to $600 it would cost me a month for [private] health care coverage.”
Maybe Mr. Morocco will finally get Medicaid if he doesn't end up moving to a state with a
sadist governor petulantly refusing to comply with its ObamaCare expansion. His lawyer hits the nail on the head:
Attorney Joel Daniels is now representing Morrocco. On Saturday, Daniels referred to the situation as “a very sad case, very unfortunate.”
“Hopefully, down the road, when Obamacare kicks in, you’ll no longer have situations like this,” Daniels said. “You’ll no longer have cases where a man is trying to get into prison to get better health care.”
Until that happens in 2014, welcome to America where committing a crime and destroying one's life is the only way for some vulnerable people to access medical attention:
Situations with some similarities to Morrocco’s have surfaced in recent media reports in Columbus, Ga.; Gastonia, N.C.; and Northern Cambria, Pa., all within the past five months. There have been cases in all three cities involving men who said they committed crimes so they could get arrested, go to prison and get better health care.
A federal judge in Columbus, Ga., recently sentenced Edward Pascucci, a former police officer, to five years and three months in federal prison. Pascucci, 54, said he used an unloaded gun to rob a bank in August because he was homeless, jobless, suffering from “severe health problems” and wanted to go to prison for treatment.
It's a 'prison or death' choice:
“Do I want to go back to prison? No,” Morrocco said. “But do I want to die on the outside because I can’t afford health care? No, I don’t want to do that, either.”
America is a clusterfuck of morality. It's surprising that Mitt didn't just suggest the poor go to prison instead of the
emergency room.
Shame on this sick country.
8:09 AM PT: tytalus updates us with the news that the judge has refused to send Morrocco back to jail, but instead is insisting he apply for a NY state program that will cost just under $400/month. Hardly an ideal solution, but at least the judge is trying to help. For more, go here: http://www.buffalonews.com/...