Louisiana has become the epicenter of gouging rape victims for medical services that are supposed to be free.
Federal law forbids charging victims for medical forensic exams (MFEs), aka “rape kits.” Medical providers are required to bill state victim compensation funds, not victims, for these.
But in Louisiana, private hospitals get around this by requiring ER admission to perform then MFE, then sock the victim with a hefty ER bill. Louisiana’s compensation funds, like those of most states, doesn’t cover these charges, which often are thousands of dollars, so victims get stuck with them unless they can negotiate a lower bill with the hospital or hire a lawyer to force the hospital to back off.
Many sexual assaults go unreported because the legal system is a big hassle; and many victims, fearing large medical bills, are afraid to seek medical evaluation and treatment after being raped. Some providers, to encourage cooperation, train their nurses to tell victims they won’t be billed — then bill them.
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals blames these practices on “disjointed local health policies” and “a poor legacy charity system” and said it will seek legislative solutions.
You can buy a handgun for much less than an ER visit costs. Shhh, don’t tell anyone I said that! It’s only, you know, an observation; kinda like when a physicist says you can get a lot of energy by clapping together two chunks of uranium
. He isn’t suggesting you do it, and neither am I. All I’m sayin’ is, if you feel like blowing away a rapist or a country, in either case the technology exists. Whether people use it is up to them. I don’t give advice on that.
http://time.com/3444686/louisiana-rape-victims-exams/