I hear that Texas kills people who can't pay their medical bills?

That in Texas, someone like Teri would have been killed the moment her funding runs out? (Thanks to a law passed by Bush)

Who are the people who have died already? Is there a link?

without even reviewing their cases, or evidence and some of them may have in fact been innocent of any crime and wrongly convicted.

The law allows the attending physician to end extraordinary care if there is no hope of recovery even if it is against the will of the family.

I've read the law in its entirety and it doesn't mention payment, however, that might be a factor with today's HMO medical care. Not that it would be the sole reason but if it were an "iffy" sort of case . . .

a family is given 10 days to find another facility to care for the patient. If they can't, then the current facility has the option of ending support - without consent of the family.

support is to be ended. Once the family is notified that care will be withdrawn, they have ten days to find another facility that will continue the treatment. It isn't likely that any facility will accept a patient that has no method of payment regardless of the prognosis.

The Right is spinning the ten days as a pro-life provision--ie, it forces the hospital to keep up treatment for 10 whole days! What they seem to miss is that before the law, the hospital couldn't discontinue treatment without the consent of the next of kin.

in the medical field here in TX, I've never heard about a law that calls for the death of a patient do to non payment of bill.

Now those bill collectors may make you want to kill.......

Boggles the mind.

I've posted links to them here in GD before, however, they have now expired (according to the chronical.) I did a search of the archives and this is a list of what came up--some of it is of interest in your question:

http://www.chron.com/content/archive/ysearch.mpl?query=&head=&byl=LEIGH+HOPPER&field4=2005§=&day=any&date=n&bmon=1&bday=1&byr=2005&emon=3&eday=15&eyr=2005&databases=2005%3B2004%3B2003%3B2002%3B2001%3B2000%3B1999%3B1998%3B1997%3B1996%3B1995%3B1994%3B1993%3B1992%3B1991%3B1990%3B1989%3B1988%3B1987%3B1986%3B1985%3B&hview=1


It is pay to view for anything further from the archive, however, you might be able to pull up some of the articles by doing a Google search on the specific titles. they may have been reprinted someplcae else that still has them on the web for free.

Good luck!

Laura