Posted on 10/08/2007 3:28:15 PM PDT by Eric Blair 2084
The media piled on when President Bush used his veto pen on this children's health insurance bill. They tried to drop the absolute moral authority bomb on it big time and paint him as not caring about children. Now it looks like a little backfire is on the horizon.
On September 29th, 12 year old Graeme Frost of Maryland got to do the Democrats radio address, in which he told his story of how he and his sister were seriously injured in a car accident, and if it hadnt been for SCHIP, they wouldnt be here today. The Baltimore Sun did a story on the family, in which it stated the family couldnt get health insurance through their work.
"Bonnie Frost works for a medical publishing firm; her husband, Halsey, is a woodworker. They are raising their four children on combined income of about $45,000 a year. Neither gets health insurance through work."
There were many others in the media that swallowed the story whole with its hook. All of them were missing greatly in one major thing, facts.
Freerepublic's icwhatudo, managed to find plenty of missing facts using google:
"First, Mr. Halsey Frost, Graemes father, owns his own woodworking design studio, Frostworks, so his claim that he cant get health insurance through work is shockingly deceptive. He chooses not to get health care for his family. Second, Graeme and his sister Gemma attend the very exclusive Park School, which has a tuition of $20,000 a year, per child. Third, they live in a 3,000+ square foot home in a neighborhood with smaller homes that are selling for at least $400,000. "
Dan Collins concludes:
"Im glad little Graham and his family were able to get help, and I hope he reaches full rehabilitation. But perhaps the Democrats ought to take more care in the spokespeople they choose, if they wish to tug at our heartstrings."
Then again, as Mark Steyn says:
"But who needs facts when you've got the human-interest angle sewn up?"
Roundup of blogosphere reactions at Stop The ACLU
Perhaps Grandpa pays the tuition because the family can’t afford to. Does that mean he should also have to pay for their private medical insurance?
That’s the angle the MSM will use, if it learns that the family was not in fact paying the $40,000 tuition that icwhatudo confidently asserts that they were, and that they weren’t on scholarship. Better we should stick with real facts that we can prove, instead of making assertions that we have to back-track on while the media pounces on the lack of credibility of “conservative websites”.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1907687/posts?page=118#118
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-insurance1.htm
Know Your State Laws
Remember that forty-seven states require that you purchase liability insurance. Liability insurance is what pays for bodily injury and property damage that you cause another driver. Fifteen states including Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey also require that you buy Personal Injury Protection (PIP). This coverage pays for your medical expenses and lost wages in the event of an auto accident. Your insurance minimum will most likely be determined by state law, but many people are encouraged to purchase more than is required.
.
Fifteen states including Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey also require that you buy Personal Injury Protection (PIP). This coverage pays for your medical expenses and lost wages in the event of an auto accident.
Your point is?
Getting closer;
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1907687/posts?page=169#169
From the Baltimore Sun article:
Graeme and his 9-year-old sister, Gemma, were passengers in the family SUV in December 2004 when it hit a patch of black ice and slammed into a tree. Both were taken to a hospital with severe brain trauma. Graeme was in a coma for a week and still requires physical therapy.
Great tag line, from the Baltimore article;
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.democrats29sep29,0,1093633.story
Graeme said the recording in a studio at the Democratic National Committee headquarters “took quite a few takes.” But Democratic staffers said he finished the job in fewer attempts than some senators.
This whole “Frost” thing got a real fishy aroma. Big shot well to do Granddad, long established custom woodwork biz, private school. Probably well connected to lib dim politics.
Maryland....require that you buy Personal Injury Protection (PIP). This coverage pays for your medical expenses and lost wages in the event of an auto accident.
This whole “Frost” thing got a real fishy aroma. Big shot well to do Granddad, long established custom woodwork biz, private school. Probably well connected to lib dim politics.
fake but accurate bump - you just know that’s going to be the lib spin on this!
I’m blaming it on the server!!
Do you know what the minimum required coverage is for PIP in Maryland?
I’ll give you a hint: not very much at all.
Here’s some information from an auto insurance website:
“Maryland state law requires minimum Bodily Injury Liability coverage of $20,000 per injured person up to a total of $40,000 per accident, and Property Damage Liability coverage with a minimum limit of $15,000. This basic coverage is often referred to as 20/40/15 coverage.
“Personal Injury Protection (PIP) in your coverage helps pay for ‘reasonable and necessary’ medical expenses for you and your passengers. Maryland state law requires a minimum Personal Injury Protection coverage of $2,500.”
https://www.carinsurance.com/state/Maryland-car-insurance.aspx
sitetest
See post #111.
If this family is only making $50K it's because the grandparents are paying for the kids education. Either they're intentionally keeping their incomes low or this guy is a spoiled rich brat that never will make any real money of his own.
What is the purpose of the MSM?
Does this confirm that the profesional journalists are nothing more that television hairstyle models?
Perhaps we can finally say the MSM no longer has journalists.
The reporters do not investigate. Reporters do not question. They only parrot spin memos produced by candidates and politicians the PERSONALLY agree with.
We can’t lose sight the MSM sustains itself with advertising not truth. They don’t care that Mr. and Mrs America are better reporters, they only care about the fact that parroting Hillary’s talking points will mean they have a job to pay for more mousse.
It is informative and fun for freepers to speculate. Lets say grandpa and grandma are filthy rich. Each can donate $11K per year per person for a total of $22K per family member without tax consequences. They can gift more, but have to pay tax unless they use part of their inheritance tax exclusion.
Since the parents really don't need the money, they can max out there retirement accounts and lower their taxable to $45K a year. The numbers don't add up in the story, so speculation occurs..
Think I found it,
http://www.kennedykrieger.org/kki_touch_article.jsp?pid=4884
On December 4, 2004, the car the children were riding in hit a patch of black ice and spun into a tree.
If you go to the link there appears to be a lot more detail of what actually happened to the kids, who obviously have our prayers.
I am now working for a firm in NYC and paying almost $500/mo. through my employer's plan but it beats what I could get on my own.
With such low coverage, guess they’d better drive carefully in the first place, maybe a state maximum speed law of 5mph would save more children the the SCHIP./sarc
Thanks for actual figures, we won’t get them from elected Democrats./no sarc
Ooooh... “Subtle manipulation”. I think that beats my “Calculating mind”. LOL!
Thread hijack? Yes. ;^)
The PIP coverage in Maryland isn't out of line compared to other states.
PIP in nearby Pennsylvania has a $5,000 minimum.
PIP in Virginia, directly to our south, is optional. No minimum coverage.
No requirements in West Virginia.
Delaware's a bit stricter - $15,000 minimum. Still doesn't pay for this kid's nine-day coma.
In big states, California has no minimum PIP. No minimum in Florida. No minimum in Texas. No minimum in Illinois.
New York requires a great deal: $50,000. Of course, auto insurance in New York is on average, about 50% higher than it is nationally. And still won't cover nine days in ICU at a place like Johns Hopkins.
Auto insurance is an expensive and roundabout way of buying health insurance.
I suppose that the mandatory rider for PIP is to provide for minor injuries.
It is not in any way shape or form a substitute for real health insurance.
These kids were in a major trauma accident. It’s quite likely that they were airlifted to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. One thing that Maryland auto insurance does pay for is a free trip in our state trooper shock/trauma helicopters.
But beyond the relatively modest amount that PIP provides, you’re on your own, cost-wise.
And this stuff is expensive. My son has been to Hopkins for two separate issues this summer. The first was outpatient surgery - $30,000. He just got out of the hospital last week for the second issue. He was in for 11 days. I haven’t had the time or energy to open the bills. I’m sure that they’re well into six figures.
You just can’t buy that sort of medical coverage through your car insurance, at least not in Maryland. Even a high-end policy in Maryland only provides, typically, $10,000 in coverage for PIP.
sitetest
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.