-
미국의 의료제도가 어떤 것인지는 겪어본 분들이 잘아는 것이니
그에 관한 험담이 될 이야기는 생략합니다. 하기사 영화 식코에 보면
미국인들이 쿠바로 가서 진료를 받고 돌아오는 웃지못할 처지가 그려지더군요.
그런데 미국에는 가디언 제도라 해서
미국인 환자를 보호한다는명목의 막대한 권한을 가진 보호자 제도가 있습니다.
이것이 얼마나 무서운 것인지 아래
기사에 고발이 오릅니다.미국 병원은 환자에게 진료비청구서를 보내고 돈을 떼이고 있는
순진한
조직이 아닙니다. 만일 환자가 돈을 내지않는 상황이 되면즉시 가디언 보호체제를 환자 가족에게 뒤집어 씌우지요.
그러면 그 보호자는 환자가족의 재산권, 특히 부동산 처분권을 행사해서
병원비를 지불해주는 것입니다. 다시말해 집을
팔아 병원비를 내주는무서운 사람이지요. 과연 이런것이 가능하느냐고요?
그런 질문은 미국의 사법제도가 얼마나
사회조직 위주로짜여져있는지 잘 모르기에 하는 말입니다. 미국의 사법권, 무섭습니다.
반대로 인권이나 자주권 같은
것은 없다는 이야기지요.이에 관해 알아보시려면 아래 영문기사를 읽어보기 바랍니다
The Hospital Gestapo: You May Never See Home
AgainJanuary 9, 2014 by ppjg
PPJ/Contributor
Angela V. Woodhull, Ph.D./licensed private investigator
___________________________________________________________
$ Predatory Guardians $
American hospitals have devised a scheme to guarantee they never get
stuck with an unpaid bill. It’s called guardianship.Thinking of
checking into a hospital? Think again. You may never see home again.
•Ginger
Franklin, Hendersonville, Tennessee, fell down the stairs in her condo and
suffered a bump on her head. She was declared “temporarily mentally
incapacitated” and a guardian was appointed through the courts. Within six
weeks, the guardian had soldFranklin’s home, car, furniture, and drained her
bank account. Today,Franklin has her freedom back, but she is having to start
all over.
•Michael Kidd, 72, of Richardson, Texas, fell in his yard and
broke a hip. Now, he is living in Countryside Nursing Home with his wife. Both
were removed from their home when the state of Texas petitioned the courts
claiming that the Kidds were mentally incompetent. Their house sits vacant and
neglected, with rotting food still remaining in the refrigerator. The Kidds have
been confined to a single room in the nursing home, while the state appointed
guardian burns through their money an gives them a mere $60 a month spending
allowance which they have been using to buy “real” food.•Robert
Milton (not his real name) was taken to the hospital because he fell “one time
too many” at his home, and although his stepson had been given power of attorney
to make all of his health care decisions, a court-appointed corporate guardian
placed Milton against his will in a nursing home where he is now isolated from
his family and friends. Meanwhile, his money is being spent as quickly as
possible by the Orlando-based guardian and her attorneys.How It
CommencesJoseph Niedesky (not his real name) was air lifted to a
hospital in Orlando from Ocalaby helicopter after he was the victim of a
motorcycle crash. But something went terribly wrong during Niedesky’s surgery
and he aspirated on his own vomit, causing some brain injury. That’s when a
corporate guardian was contacted by the hospital and appointed by the court as
Niedesky’s full plenary, permanent guardian.What Happens Next
The corporate guardian who petitioned the court stated in the court
papers that Niedesky had no family. In reality, Niedesky had been married for
more than 20 years and had four teenage children. It took more than two months
for Niedesky’s wife to discover what had happened to her husband and where he
was located.The Family is Always Portrayed as the “Devil Incarnate”
What happened to Niedesky is becoming a commonplace occurrence in
America. A family member is rushed to the hospital. Surgery occurs and something
sometimes goes terribly wrong. However, by quickly petitioning the courts for
guardianship, the hospital avoids any kind of lawsuit for negligence or wrongful
death. Niedesky’s wife wanted to bring him home and get him out of the
guardianship. The guardian, however, kept moving Niedesky from location to
location, city to city, until the statute of limitations for suing the hospital
had expired. Shortly after the statute of limitations ended, Niedsky just
happened to die.“The hospital saved itself millions in a lawsuit. It is
typical that shortly after the statute of limitations runs out, the ward just
happens to suddenly die,” stated David Newman, Gainesville, Florida, a civil
rights guardianship reform advocate.Niedesky’s wife was portrayed in
the court record as uncaring, incompetent, over-meddling, and negligent, and
although these descriptors seem to be a contraction of terms, you will typically
find the most cynical descriptions of family members in most court files where
an involuntary guardianship has been granted by the courts to a total stranger.For example, in Milton’s case, Milton’s stepson had been named long ago
as his power of attorney and health care surrogate. That designation, however,
was destroyed by the court and the corporate guardian even accused the stepson
of stealing several thousands over the years from his stepfather. Today,
Milton’s stepson, a 65 year old retired veteran, finds himself in a legal
nightmare gathering bank records and hiring attorneys and forensic accountants
to prove his innocence. Meanwhile, the corporate guardian is spending Milton’s
money like water.The Other Scenario
Tom Griffith (not his real
name) wonders why an Orlando-based corporate guardian would be interested in his
father at all.“He has no money. All he gets is a small monthly cheque
from Social Security of about $800.00.”I explained to Griffith that his
father has been marked for destruction and will mostly likely not be among the
living in a very short period of time. “We live in a country that is ruled by
corporations, not the U.S. Constitution. If there is not enough money for the
nursing home to cover its expenses, there is ‘no reason’ to keep your father
alive.” I explained to Milton how Thomas Chada’s father was sent to him as a box
of ashes and how other wards seem to always turn up “expired” shortly after a
corporate guardian and her attorneys have burned through all of an elderly
person’s money.But in this case, Griffith said there was no reason to
destroy his father. “There is no money to gain.”“Yes, but that is the
point. The corporate guardians have a symbiotic relationship with the nursing
homes. Sometimes, the nursing home gives them a wealthy resident that they can
bilk. At other times, the corporate guardian does them a favor by making
premature end-of-life decisions when there is not enough finances to cover the
elderly person’s day-to-day expenses.”In the case of Griffith’s father,
who just received quadruple open heart bypass surgery, it was determined that
the ward, age 74, now needed dialysis, a very costly on-going treatment.“The doctors said my father does not want dialysis,”Milton stated. “But
I know my father wishes to live; he is on-ly 74.”“They probably got
your father to sign such a statement without him even knowing what he was
signing,” I explained.Milton wanted to know what he could do to rescue
his father out of this dangerous and life-threatening situation.“You
can hire an attorney, but you might end up spending more than $500,000.00 of
your own money to become your father’s guardian.”“I don’t have that
kind of money,”Griffith declared, shocked.It was obvious that the
scenario I was describing was greatly upsetting Griffith. Those of us who have
already lived this scenario remember going through the predictable stage of
“mental shock” followed by the overwhelming urge to seek justice—at any cost. I
explained to Griffith that he may find himself bankrupt as a result of trying to
help his father out of this doomed guardianship situation.My phone
continues to ring as victims, desperate to find a solution, want to know what
they can do.In a country that is ruled by corporations and corporate
greed, there will be no solution to The Guardianship Nightmare until a public
uprising is so severe that these kinds of abominable– yet commonplace
situations– will no longer be able to occur.Angela V. Woodhull, Ph.D.
licensed private investigator
(352) 327-3665