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Clinton's Make-Believe Health Care Horror Story

Posted by Brave New Films, AlterNet at 10:48 AM on April 7, 2008.


First it was sniper fire in Bosnia, now this...

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Hillary Clinton has been telling a heartbreaking story for the past month, as recently as April 4, 2008. But it turns out that almost all the details of the story that she told were completely made up. Tragically, the woman and her child did die—but not for the reasons that Clinton said.

See more coverage of Clinton playing make-believe,courtesy of TheJedReport.


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I wonder why everybody makes such a big deal about silly stories?
Posted by: Benson986 on Apr 7, 2008 8:59 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
take everything with a grain of salt i suppose

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/
AP-Clinton-Hospital-Fact-Check.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

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nutty
Posted by: meetmeineleusis on Apr 7, 2008 9:10 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
like squirrel dung

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» RE: nutty Posted by: carrie jean
Progressives fighting against health care
Posted by: fratricide08 on Apr 7, 2008 11:04 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
First, Senator Clinton was telling the truth.

Here is the video of Senator Clinton being told the story:

See Also:

Clinton Told True Tale of Woe, Says Kin

However, secondly and more importantly, since when do progressives attack UHC? I'm sorry but these campaign stories regarding health care are bigger than whichever candidate you support. They are stories designed to drive home how DESPERATELY we need Universal Health Care in this country. There are thousands of stories out there just as tragic as this poor woman's and these stories need to be heard. This is the FIRST time UHC has taken the forefront of an election cycle and the FIRST time actually establishing UHC is genuine a possibility. Attacks like these do the GOP's dirty work for them by putting in the public's mind that democrats are lying about the shoddy state and inherent injustices of our health system. Don't think for a moment, you're doing any democrat a favor by attacking stories like these.

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Ms.
Posted by: jegnj on Apr 8, 2008 6:07 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Gee whiz every day a new attack on her. Do your frigging research. This is how the story was told to her.
If you aren't kneeling before your god Obama you are trashing her. This is getting very old.

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» RE: Ms. Posted by: carrie jean
» RE: Ms. Posted by: seacaptdon
» RE: Ms. Posted by: willymack
Retraction
Posted by: gabbyone on Apr 8, 2008 7:34 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It would be nice but probably not likely that you would show some jounalistic integrity and
write your own correction. One of the demands that the press kept making is why did Clinton not vet this story.....the same could be made for you? The fact is she was not given the name of the person or the hospital and was just telling a story she was told. The Washington Post outed the womans name and the
hospital violated her privacy....where is the
outrage over that?

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Illegal aliens get better treatment that US citizens
Posted by: Paul1939 on Apr 8, 2008 7:36 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The real story here is not whether Senator Clinton lied, but is instead about why this could even possibly happen to a US citizen. It can not happen to an illegal alien! US law mandates every US hospital provide gynecological services to any illegal alien requesting them. That mandate is bankrupting many hospital in southwestern states.

What is so special about illegal aliens that they get better hospital treatment from the US government than do US citizens?

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The standard Hillary should use when repeating a story.
Posted by: Christie on Apr 8, 2008 7:39 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Several times, I watched the video of the deputy sheriff telling the story to Hillary. He seemed sincere enough, but not all his statements were clear. For example (from a transcript online) “She went to the hospital, and the hospital told her she needed $100 up front, which she didn’t have of course didn’t make a lot of money . So they had billed her a couple of times for it. And uh, after getting pregnant she went back ...”

I can certainly see this story as perhaps inspiring Hillary to follow up and get the specifics verified and get permission from the family to tell their story, (Even without using their name and the name of the hospital involved, she should know by now that her stories will be checked and the names will come out.) If that didn’t pan out, have her campaign aids find a story that did have the specifics to illustrate the points she wants to make about health care and get that story verified. Remember, she told the story for five weeks on the campaign trail before it circled back to Ohio newspaper, where they did start looking into it. (The hospital where the officials got so upset that they spoke up in protest was, in fact, the hospital where the baby died but apparently not the hospital to which the Deputy Sheriff made a vague reference.)

It seems to me that too many Hillary supporters are defending Hillary telling the story as if she were some local Ohio woman saying at a meeting that she had heard the story and suggesting they look into it. That is certainly not the casual standard she should use when she, as a presidential candidate, tells a story.

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domelady the really sad truth
Posted by: domelady on Apr 8, 2008 7:47 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The really sad part of this story is that anyone in need of health care assistance is ever turned away for lack of the ability to pay the too high deductable. With everyone stretching the paycheck to meet the too high cost of living we all should understand that under this stress there are many more untold stories like this one. I only hope the whole truth of this story gets the coverage it deserves and universal health care is a reality.soon!

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More nonsense against Hillary.
Posted by: johnp on Apr 8, 2008 12:28 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
What a sorry bunch of biased fools Clinton haters are. This story has been debunked. The Alternet people are looking like gossipy adolescents. It turns out, that nearly everything Hillary said about this event, is true.

The Bosnia story also makes you out to be vindictive and trouble making adolescents. The Bosnia incidents, was in its most important particular, true. Hillary went to Bosnia with Chelsea, a dangerous area; and embroidered the matter of precisely where the sniper fire was. It was further away, in the hills, and not over Chelsea's, and her, head. How dumb you look trying to create monumental events, out of nothing. You make Hillary look better for this ugly nonsense.

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» RE: More nonsense against Hillary. Posted by: blackie4aces
» RE: More nonsense against Hillary. Posted by: Prairie Waif
» RE: More nonsense against Hillary. Posted by: blackie4aces
» RE: More nonsense against Hillary. Posted by: blackie4aces
» RE: More nonsense against Hillary. Posted by: Prairie Waif
wow
Posted by: foreverhope on Apr 8, 2008 5:12 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I can't believe Hillary supporters are BLAMING supporters of Obama for noticing and discussing Hillary's many errors and misstatements. Are you honestly telling me you don't think Hillary has given us more than one occasion to question not only her leadership abilities and even sometimes her sanity?

Bit mind boggling, blame us, blame Obama, blame the media, blame the repugs, blame a Karl Rove conspiracy, but for gosh sakes! Don't ever, ever, ever hold The Clintons responsible for their own actions, don't do that.

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» RE: wow Posted by: seacaptdon
» RE: wow Posted by: blackie4aces
» RE: wow Posted by: blackie4aces
» RE: wow Posted by: koolwoman
So, Would Hilary Solve This Problem with "UHC"?
Posted by: Liberty G on Apr 9, 2008 7:54 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It's hard to verify the exact facts of any particular incident - that's why courts take long periods of time and review lots of evidence. However, the really important thing here is - if true, what would Hilary do about this kind of situation?

Her proposal for "Universal Health Care" is a scam (as was, unfortunately, that of Edwards, whom I otherwise supported). Mandates to buy health insurance imposed on people who can't afford it are not "providing" anything.

These always come with offhand statements that those too poor to afford the premiums would be covered for free. And what always happens is that that bar is set so low that millions of struggling moderate-income folks are left up the creek. Some reasons:

1. Senior citizens often depend on savings and investment income to survive and pay their bills. They are denied any assistance because of "means tests". I can't even pay the $100 a month Medicare B premium - my kids are temporarily filling the gap, but may not be able to keep it up. The "affordable" level in MA under mandatory insurance is $300. Seniors like me would have to divest themselves of everything in their nest eggs before getting help to pay.

2. The premium is only the tip of the financial iceberg - with co-pays and deductibles, the cost is far more. So, even if I could pay the mandatory tax for health insurance industry welfare, I couldn't afford to go to the doctor.

Thus, under Hilary's plan, the young waitress would either not be able to pay for the insurance, so not have a policy, or, with that huge amount taken out of her pay, she wouldn't be covered for care because she couldn't afford to go, not being covered before paying that deductible. How is this different than the $100 asked for by the hospital? At least, being a waitress, she would still be able to eat.

We won't solve our health care problems until, like England and a bunch of other countries, we include effective complementary and alternative treatments in the mix. They do that, and pay $2,000 per capita vs. our $7,000. And by the way, statistics show their health results are far superior to ours.

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» very discouraging Posted by: foreverhope