HEALTH CARE HOLD-UP

What does it say about a society that a downtrodden member of it has to resort to bank robbery to get medical care? Sound crazy? Well, it's true, but there was method in that North Carolina bank robber's madness and the rest of us should be ashamed because of it.

The man's name is James Richard Verone. He's 59 years old and he desperately needs medical care. He suffers from debilitating arthritis in his back and he walks with a noticeable limp, exacerbated by a problem with his left foot. He's also in constant pain from a wrist besot with carpal tunnel syndrome, but that and the arthritis in his back and the foot problem are the least of his worries. He's also sporting a lump jutting out from his abdomen that pushes the limits of his tolerance for pain.

Unfortunately, there was nothing Mr. Verone could do about his medical difficulties because he didn't have health care insurance coverage and wouldn't qualify until 2014, when the President's "Affordable Care Act" would provide health insurance to folks who, like Verone, can't afford coverage of their own because of their financial circumstances. If Republicans get their way and succeed in repealing "Obamacare", Verone and people like him would be waiting a whole lot longer. Those realities, and the fact that he could no longer withstand the pain, forced Verone's hand.

Famed bank robber, Willie Sutton notoriously declared that he robbed banks because that's where the money is. James Verone decided to rob a bank because that's where the health care was. On Monday, June 9th, Verone coolly entered a branch of the RBC bank in Gaston, North Carolina and handed a teller a robber's note. In the note, he demanded one dollar and medical care. After getting his loot - $1.00, he calmly took a seat in the bank and waited for the police to arrive. They hauled him off to jail, where he finally got the medical care he required.

Mr. Verone is not the stereotypical deadbeat those who moan about such things like to hold up as an example. Before the economy tanked, he'd been a 17-year employee of Coca Cola with a job that included health insurance benefits. After Coke laid him off due to the economic downturn, he tried his hand at truck driving and later took a job in a convenience store. His medical condition washed him out of those positions, and Verone found himself without access to the health care he needed to have any chance at being productive again. It's not that Verone didn't want to work. He's always worked. His body wouldn't let me. Neither would society.

I listened to the GOP presidential candidate debate a few weeks ago, and to a person, every one of those candidates solemnly pledged to do away with President Obama's health care initiative. Those GOP candidates who've joined the race since then have made the same pledge. The shame of it is that not a single one of those candidates have put forth a plan to make sure the James Verone's of the world aren't placed in a position where they have to rob a bank to get medical care. Then again, the GOP candidates don't see that as any of their concern. They don't work in a bank!