I think this was the mug she was using
Posted on 09/19/2008 6:40:50 AM PDT by scan59
Federal prosecutors have charged a North Idahoan with 2 offenses after a dispute over the price of a pop at the Boise VA hospital.
-- SNIP --
Natalie Walters, now facing two counts that each carry a maximum sentence of six months in federal prison, thinks the case is a waste of taxpayer money and plans to fight the charges.
-- SNIP --
The 39-year-old North Idaho resident periodically drives her father, a disabled Vietnam veteran, to Boise's VA Medical Center for doctor visits. She brings her own mug and fills it with soda in the hospital's cafeteria. The cafeteria does not have a posted price for refills, and typically the cashier charges her $1 or $1.50, Walters said.
But on Aug. 20, when Walters filled her mug with Diet Coke, the clerk charged $3.80.
"I told her that cannot be right and asked to talk to the manager," Walters said.
The manager told Walters the price is correct.
Walters decided she didn't want to pay that much and offered to return the soda, she said. But the manager told her there was no way to accept the returned soda and Walters had to pay. Walters refused, and she said she was angry by this point, and she poured the soda onto the counter.
The manager banned Walters from the cafeteria. Walters left but remained in the hospital for a couple of hours waiting for her father to finish his appointments. No one came to talk to her, so she assumed the soda ordeal was over.
What happened the next day upsets Walters most...
(Excerpt) Read more at idahostatesman.com ...
BTW - Having to trim an article excerpt down to 300 words can be a pain.
I’ve seen some of those mugs that people carry around. They are at least half a gallon or a gallon. I can see charging $3.80 for a fill up. There’s at least 5 or 6 large drinks in there.
Pouring her drink out on the counter was just plain stupid.
Contrary to what the headline implies, she did not “spill” the soda. She aggressively poured it out on a counter.
1) The author should state how big her mug was...impossible to evaluate without this info.
2) Yah, she sounds like she feels entitled to it. And no matter what the problem was, only a jerk would pour it out just to be a pain. Guilty.
You are correct, but that wasn't the point. The point was that there was no posted price and before they had only charged her a buck to a buck fifty. When she reasonably offered to return the pop they refused. They are at fault.
This is the more interesting part : )
"They accessed my father's medical records to find out his next appointment to try and find me," she said. "I think that is a (federal health privacy law) violation. Medical records are private," she said. "They should not have used a veteran's medical records to find me. ... My dad was upset. He could not believe it."
If an unauthorized person (anyone not specifically authorized by the patient) accessed his medical records that person should spend a nice long vacation at a Federal Pen. The laws are very specific for those kind of violations.
It would have been nice to know what charges she is facing. Not your fault - it is not in the article.
??????
How could she do that without violating health laws?
Here’s a hint....
If you are in a govt facility and a cafeteria of such a facility most likely you are dealing with people that do not have a lot going on in their lives. If you give them trouble they will probably escalate it beyond what you can imagine because they need something else to focus on besides their own lives. So she gambled over the difference in the soda price and lost. tough lesson to learn for a person that feels entitled.
That would be like trying to return a cigarette after you smoked it. Once the soda leaves the dispenser machine, it's pretty damn hard to return it to a re-dispensabe position.
The cafeteria at my work switched to “eco-friendly” paper coffee cups (switched from styrofoam). I hate the paper cups because they get hot and burn my hand. Since they offer a 5 cent discount if I use my own cup, I started to bring in my giant travel coffee cup. They happily filled my vat-o-coffee at the discount price. LOL
How does she know they accessed his medical records to find out when the next visit was? I agree, if they did, that's pretty sleazy, however they could have accessed the hospitals appointment book, which is not part of anybody's medical records, therefore no violation.
She couldn't. They should have charged her the same amount that they had previously charged her and told her that in the future the price was $3.80.
You are correct, but since they didn't post a price and she had previously purchased the soda for a dollar they should have charged her a dollar and told her in the future that it would be $3.80.
2USC1320d-6 Wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information(a) Offense
A person who knowingly and in violation of this part-
(1) uses or causes to be used a unique health identifier;
(2) obtains individually identifiable health information relating to an individual; or
(3) discloses individually identifiable health information to another person,shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).
(b) Penalties
A person described in subsection (a) shall-
(1) be fined not more than $50,000, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both;
(2) if the offense is committed under false pretenses, be fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both; and
(3) if the offense is committed with intent to sell, transfer, or use individually identifiable health information for commercial advantage, personal gain, or malicious harm, be fined not more than $250,000, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
Not so. The very fact that you are even a patient is protected under HIPAA.
That's right, she (gasp) "aggressively" poured it.
Clearly this is a case of 'assault soda' and we should immediately ban all soda from everywhere - unless of course you have the appropriate license.
Hmm, I think that I could make a pretty good case that an appointment book is a health record. If you have an appointment to visit an AIDS specialist and I were to access that record I think that I would be in violation of the HIPAA Laws.
What part of that is reasonable?
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