Going to jail for health care

HOW SICK is America's health care system? So sick that James Richard Verone decided the only way he could get health care was by going to jail.

Verone had worked as a delivery man for Coca Cola for 17 years, but was laid off three years ago. According to ThinkProgress.org, "He eventually found employment as a convenience clerk, yet he began to notice a protrusion in his chest. He developed arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome, and soon the pain became too much for him to bear. He filed for disability, but he was denied any sort of coverage by the federal government."

Increasingly desperate, Verone decided earlier this month that his only option would be to land in jail--where the state would be forced to give him health care.

According to the Gaston Gazette, on June 9, Verone drove to a local RBC Bank and told the teller he was robbing them for a dollar. He said he wanted to rob the bank in order to go to jail and get medical coverage:

Verone didn't want to scare anyone. He executed the robbery the most passive way he knew how. He handed the teller a note demanding one dollar, and medical attention. "I didn't have any fears," said Verone. "I told the teller that I would sit over here and wait for police."...

Verone says he's not a political man. But he has a lot to say on the subject of socialized medical care. He suspects he wouldn't be talking to a reporter through a metal screen wearing an orange jumpsuit if such an option were available in the U.S. "If you don't have your health you don't have anything," said Verone. The man has high hopes with his recent incarceration. He has seen several nurses and has an appointment with a doctor Friday. The ideal scenario would include back and foot surgery and a diagnosis and treatment of the protrusion on his chest, he said.

Verone has since told reporters that he had also hoped to remain in jail long enough so that, when he was released, he could begin collecting Social Security.

"First time I've ever been in trouble with the law, so it's not--you know, I'm sort of a logical person, and that was my logic," he told DemocracyNow! "That's what I came up with. If it's called manipulation, then out of necessity, because I need medical care, then I guess I am manipulating the courts to get medical care."