http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelo...-to-get-medical-care-in-jail#mwpphu-container Some people who need medical care but can't afford it go to the emergency room. Others just hope they'll get better. James Richard Verone robbed a bank. Earlier this month, Verone (pictured), a 59-year-old convenience store clerk, walked into a Gaston, N.C., bank and handed the cashier a note demanding $1 and medical attention. Then he waited calmly for police to show up. He's now in jail and has an appointment with a doctor this week. Verone's problems started when he lost the job he'd held for 17 years as a Coca Cola deliveryman, amid the economic downturn. He found new work driving a truck, but it didn't last. Eventually, he took a part-time position at the convenience store. But Verone's body wasn't up to it. The bending and lifting made his back ache. He had problems with his left foot, making him limp. He also suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis. Then he noticed a protrusion on his chest. "The pain was beyond the tolerance that I could accept," Verone told the Gaston Gazette. "I kind of hit a brick wall with everything." Verone knew he needed help--and he didn't want to be a burden on his sister and brothers. He applied for food stamps, but they weren't enough either. So he hatched a plan. On June 9, he woke up, showered, ironed his shirt. He mailed a letter to the Gazette, listing the return address as the Gaston County Jail. "When you receive this a bank robbery will have been committed by me," Verone wrote in the letter. "This robbery is being committed by me for one dollar. I am of sound mind but not so much sound body." Then Verone hailed a cab to take him to the RBC Bank. Inside, he handed the teller his $1 robbery demand. "I didn't have any fears," said Verone. "I told the teller that I would sit over here and wait for police." The teller was so frightened that she had to be taken to the hospital to be checked out. Verone, meanwhile, was taken to jail, just as he'd planned it. Because he only asked for $1, Verone was charged with larceny, not bank robbery. But he said that if his punishment isn't severe enough, he plans to tell the judge that he'll do it again. His $100,000 bond has been reduced to $2,000, but he says he doesn't plan to pay it. In jail, Verone said he skips dinner to avoid too much contact with the other inmates. He's already seen some nurses and is scheduled to see a doctor on Friday. He said he's hoping to receive back and foot surgery, and get the protrusion on his chest treated. Then he plans to spend a few years in jail, before getting out in time to collect Social Security and move to the beach. Verone also presented the view that if the United States had a health-care system which offered people more government support, he wouldn't have had to make the choice he did. "If you don't have your health you don't have anything," Verone said. The Affordable Care Act, President Obama's health-care overhaul passed by Congress last year, was designed to make it easier for Americans in situations like Verone's to get health insurance. But most of its provisions don't go into effect until 2014. As it is, Verone said he thinks he chose the best of a bunch of bad options. "I picked jail." (Photo: Ben Goff/The Gaston Gazette)
I plan to do the same by my 70 birthday for retirement. In prison they would take care of me better than they would at an elderly home center. Hopefully that's 40 years away.
it would be better,if he does that to some politician in DC,who is directly responsible for health care in US. maybe that will wake them up. due long time ago
nah... too simple..the american way is to sue the shit out of coca cola for all those problems,cause he got them there. i use to have carpal tunnel. it actually easy to threat at early stages. same for arthritis. the cause could be very simple-not enough vitamin D in the body. should be common problem for daytraders or anyone,who did not spend enough time outside,on the sun. all you have to do is to take some supplements,some basic exercise and it will go away.
It's sad, but this is what the USA healthcare system has come to. Those without disposable income get screwed. Thank god I live in Canada.
Universal healthcare. This guy can get his operations and not pay a cent. What crisis? Most of Canada has their job back and for the most part, everything is normal.