Clinton Hospital Story May Actually Be True

ABC's Political Punch:

The New York Times had a real attention-grabbing story over the weekend indicating that Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, had been irritating an Ohio hospital by telling a false story about a poor, pregnant woman denied health care.

"The hospital said, 'Well, you don't have insurance,'" Clinton said. "She said, 'No, I don't.' They said, 'Well, we can't see you until you give $100.' She said, 'Where am I going to get $100?' The next time she came back to the hospital, she came in an ambulance," Mrs. Clinton continued. "She was in distress. The doctors and the nurses worked on her and couldn't save the baby."

Read the whole story: ABC's Political Punch

Comments

[Thorn]

Isn't it just a little telling that the headline here is that something Hillary Clinton has in her stump speech "may actually be true"?

[Mattie]

isn't it telling, that when Huffington Post accused her of lying they put it across the front page in huge headlines, but now that it turns out to be true, they bury it. No bias here, no not at all.

[PJay]

No, it doesn't "turn out to be true". This *journalist* who says it MAY be true is also the same *journalist* who said Barack Obama *MAY* have lied about smoking.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/03/abc-reporter-i-think-obam_n_94847.html

[Thorn]

If you think the Clintons don't routinely sling bullshit to win elected office or hang onto it, I just feel sorry for you.

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

Whether there is some truth to the story or not, the fact that she didn't even bother to check it out and get her legions of staff on it shows her propensity for not bothering to fact check. Kind of like when she didn't bother to read the NIE, before she voted for war in Iraq.

[Mattie]

she checked her story out as well as Obama did the one about how his daddy came to America.

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

That's been debunked. His father was brought over by a program that was funded by Kennedy. The fact that his father didn't benefit from the funds, because he came over a year earlier than when Kennedy funded the program, is irrelevant. Kennedy was involved with the program before he funded it.

[abigail1]

The NYT says it's not true, someone else says it is true, the family says it's not true. I really just don't know what to think about this other than it is horrible that this woman and her baby died and that her family has to deal with being a part of this.

I truly think Hillary Clinton believed the story she was told and was not being dishonest. But before she went out on the stump and told the story, her staff should have vetted it and found out not only if it was true but how a hospital could turn a patient out of the emergency room when it is illegal to do so. Clinton should be livid at the incompetence of some on her staff.

I hope that someone gets to the bottom of this and that there are consequences for the hospital if there was wrong doing. I also hope that everyone who hears this story knows that if the hospital did what Hillary Clinton said, then it broke the law. I would hate for anyone to stay away from the emergency room and suffer consequences because they don't have $100.

[riverhouse]

The NY Times did not say the story was untrue. A correspondent for ABC, a regular who is pro-Hillary, said the story "might be true after all" but even the Hillary campaign has said that if the family says what she said was not true and since the hospital records support the fact that the woman received not only care at the hospital but at an OB-GYN clinic affiliated with the hospital perhaps Hillary "misspoke" again.

[abigail1]

I just can't keep it straight, and don't really want to because the whole thing just makes me sad. That poor womans family should be left alone.

I am an Obama supporter, but I really think that Hillary believed the story when she told it. I also think she wanted to believe it and so didn't think about it too hard or make her staff look into it, but I don't think this is the same as the Bosnia story. In that one she was a flat out liar, liar (sniper fire!). But in this one I think she was just a typical politician looking for a scary story to support her position. but that's not such a good thing either.

[Danielle2]

You may want to read this link

http://www.examiner.com/a-1325874~Fact_Check__Clinton_tale_is_right_in_essence__wrong_in_details.html

[GotRights]

"Bachtel's family, however, deny that the 35-year-old Bachtel was ever refused medical care because she was unable to pay for it.

A family member said Friday that Bachtel was insured through her restaurant job, and had been hospitalized at Ohio State University Hospital for a week at the time of her death. At no time, the family says, was she ever sent home without necessary treatment. If she had been, they would have paid for her care."

http://mydailysentinel.com/articles/2008/04/06/news/news00.txt

[FDNH]

The woman and her baby died. My guess is a woman of more means pehaps would not have. The ugly truth here is not so much that Hillary got the story wrong - though I do think they need to do a better job of research - but that the most powerful and wealthiest country in the world has such a substandard health care system.

I sell health and life insurance. I see so many families who are forced to go without, or can only afford a high-deductible plan. I just ran a quote for a family of four, 45 year old male and 40 year old femaie, 2 kids, excellent health, non-smoking. Total cost: $500 per month. Not so bad you say? Each person must reach $5,000 in out of pocket costs, with $15,000 maximum for the family, before the plan pays a dime. Even with a plan like this, the baby and mother would have died.

Just saw Matthews reporting that Hillary lied again on this story. Wonder if he will hit it hard when he finds out it was basically true? Nah...I don't wonder, I know the answer already.

C'mon folks. Let's focus on the true enemies of the state. Not the Clintons...not even the Republicans (not really). It is our insensitivity to those less fortunate than we. And unless we are Mother Theresa, or at least cut from her mold, we are ALL guilty of that.

[MizLiz]

She said she heard this story from "a deputy". She didn't mention which dept. he was from, name, or anything else. Nice to be able to pawn off your lies on a faceless nameless surrogate.

"well....that's what I was TOLD..."

[Nicolaus]

Then you would send your people to check it out before you claim to be the confidant of all suffering people and the one to whom they relate their pains.

The misery of our healthcare system cannot afford someone using it to win votes... Which what this episode of this misguided person turns out to be.

NC.

[Mattie]

well since the deputy came forward, should she have to name him. Maybe Obama supporters would like to threaten him for talking to HIllary, I know how much you guys seem to endorse violence here on Huffpo!

[foreffectivegovernment]

I personally have seen video of the deputy telling Hillary Clinton the story. No hospital was named. The Hospital just reacted because of a guilty conscience.
As a Registered Nurse, my wife personally witnessed a similar situation. Instead of being outraged about the whether story was factual in this case, you should be outraged that it could happen to anyone in this Country. I am.

[PhillyQuaker]

I know a young man who sought treatment for addiction to heroin at a Main Line Hospital. His mom was a nurse there. They would not admit him in detox since he had no insurance. He had to take an overdose of heroiin to be admitted through the emergency room. The doc. in detox started actually cursing at the kid when he saw the kid had been admitted, saying, You -ucking punk, how the hell did you get in here?"

[Nicolaus]

Send it over to Senator Clinton to win a couple of votes with it, before we discover it is not exactly as you tell it.

I am really sorry for your friend, and I could probably shower that criminal doctor with my contempt and the contempt of all who saw or heard him take the Hippocratic oath. These people are not worthy of being in hospitals or clinic to administer care... but by the same token, nor are the ones who voted to give the pharma all the money they wanted, only a few months ago!

[HollyBrinee]

Couldn't you have found another topic to malign Hillary on? Seriously....healthcare....don't think for a secong the GOP won't remember this.

[snowcat]

you do realize of course that Hillary is famous for being the person responsible for the country NOT having universal health care now!? She screwed it up! she worked in secrecy and refused to compromise and no one could back her plan because it was so bad! Both dems and gop swear they were desperate to pass health care back when she was working on it but SHE ruined it.

"The First Lady's role in the secret proceedings of the Health Care Task Force also sparked litigation in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in relation to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) which requires openness in government."

her claim to have been against the war before Obama is more ludicrous , though!

[lovethesinner]

At the end of the story, Jake Tapper says:

"The first question is what was the first hospital Trina Bachtel went to? It wasn't O'Bleness -- but Clinton never said it was. She told the story imprecisely -- sloppily, even -- but that doesn't make its general point untrue."

then adds:

"I'm trying to find out more about this story -- it's not always easy when health records are involved, not to mention a grieving family who may already have some issues with the media."

So, the point of this scandal is not that the story is true, or not, it's that it shows the character of Hillary Clinton.

HILLARY IS PUTTING HER CANDIDACY AHEAD OF THIS POOR FAMILY'S PAIN.

The Clinton's made over 100 million dollars in the last few years. Couldn't they afford to check the story out AND get the family's APPROVAL before DRAGGING THEM DOWN HER CAMPAIGN TRAIL.

[MadeinAmericaProud]

Win at all cost. Winner take all. With the help of all these reporters want to be a reporter at the white house. What better reward. A lift up for her mean a trash down for someone else. The word of Cheney, "SO".

[maxrebel]

The local paper in Pomeroy Ohio has a story where the FAMILY says the
story Hillary told is false!

http://mydailysentinel.com/articles/2008/04/06/news/news00.txt

Conclusion: An expert like Hillary should have noticed there were problems with
the story and could have easily vetted the facts, but as in Iraq and the NIE she did
not and should pay a political price for her failure.

[awb]

the headline on the abc story said "fundamentally" true--

The point about the hospital in this sad story is not relevant --

The problem is that Sen Clinton used this story and the emotion of it because she claimed the girl was not insured- and her "universal" health care bill would not have allowed this to happen.

Even after the campaign was asked not to use the story last Friday, Sen Clinton STILL repeated this tale Friday night in SD and again Sat afternoon in Oregon --- columnists writing on both appearances
call this Sen Clinton's "pin drop" moment -- because of the emotion she shows and it invokes

There is no dispute the woman in question did have insurance --

That is why the story is a problem
It would not have been a privacy issue to confirm the woman had health insurance

And why it is a problem is that even after the hospital officially asked the Clinton campaign to not use this story - Sen Clinton continued --

Her performance as genuinely false - as always

[dawlishgal]

So this turns out to be a case of an insured woman who has neglected to pay a long-outstanding balance on an overdue bill.

That makes things a bit more complicated, since everybody with deductibles is constantly being charged large amounts at the time the services are rendered.

If people get away with not paying deductibles, why should anybody bother to pay them...all we would have to do is demand to be served, no matter how much we owe.

It is a lousy system, but let's put the blame where it belongs....on Hillary's bungling healthcare so badly last time that we have been essentially without decent care for close to a decade and a half. And she is the one who takes lobbysits money from the very insurance companies and HMOs that gouge people with high deductibles, then harrass them if they can't pay them.

[GeoLee]

But did the real hospital were it might have happened call her campaign? Did you read the whole story? Did she ever specify the name of the hospital?...not by all the accouts I have read on HuffPo

[becky]

So There! I give Huffington Post a lot of credit for running this story!
I had lost complete respect for this site. I will link back to this site
as I blog ahead so Hillary supporter will come and look.
Oh, and by the way, Hillary Clinton is the best candidate for president
of the United States. I will not take responsibility for a vote for Barack
Obama, not in the Primary or the General Election.

[thewritingguy]

bye

[MizLiz]

Watch that screen door when you leave

[GeoLee]

Notice the small print of this article after the damage had been done. I do hope GOOD investigative reporting can determine fully what happened, no matter the results or who might look bad. I do know that with my insurance, and many of you find the same thing, that unless and until you pull out a checkbook or a credit card at most hospitals if you have a deductible that has to be met, they don't care whether you say it has been met, they demand the money up front and then months later will send you a refund check when they finally determine what you told them about already maxing out your deductible was in fact true...in the mean time you have to come up with payment for the treatment until they send your refund to you. Three years ago I had to wait that long for a 600 dollar deductible charge to be returned when all it would have taken would have been one phone call or a check in their own computer system for them to determine I had met my limit in that year earlier when I had a medical procedure in the same darn hospital that got the $600 dollars the first time.

[becky]

You're right. I decided not to link back because this sight is really biased against
Hillary Clinton. I am absolutely annoyed by the obvious attempt to steer people to
vote for Barack Obama. Too bad there are so many stupid people with the right to vote in this country.

[iPolitics]

Lier. She now claims she spoke out against Iraq BEFORE Obama. Hillary is almost as bad as Bill in terms of their lies

[GeoLee]

Liar is the correct spelling, fyi.

[EvoMan]

Okay, so the story may be fundamentally true. Now the question should be, how come Senator Clinton didn't have someone check all the facts so she wouldn't blame the wrong hospital? it still goes to her competence as an executive.

[Grannysue]

Sorry guys I've worked in Healtcare for over 30 years, EMTALA laws apply to ALL hospitals, they cannot refuse treatment in the Emergency room to any patient irregardless of their ability to pay, and ALL patients must be seen and cannot be referred to or transferred to another hospital until they are seen.
Nice try though. Billary's problems are many, lying is just one of them.

[riverhouse]

No way, Jose. It doesn't matter what hospital she was talking about. Hillary needs to learn a tiny bit about health care. It is illegal under federal law for any emergency room to deny treatment to any presenting patient. The Clinton campaign and her supporters can try to salvage this mess of hers, but it's not possible. The Big Lie stands as charged.