Pharmacist refused inhaler to woman having asthma attack... because she was $1.50 sho

• Lan wrote on 2010-10-19 02:11

  A pharmacist refused to give an asthma inhaler to a New Jersey woman who was suffering a major attack in the store, because she only had a $20 note - and the inhaler was $21.50.
  Katherine O'Connor had left her inhaler at home and was near the local CVS pharmacy with her boyfriend when she began to suffer a major attack.
  Boyfriend Jack Brown said they rushed into the store and tried to find the pharmacist while Miss O'Connor was still having the attack.
  

  [Image: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/17/article-0-0BA583F3000005DC-664_224x278.jpg]

  [Image: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/17/article-0-0BA583C7000005DC-789_224x278.jpg]

  
  
  But the pharmacist refused to hand over the inhaler, which would have easily put an end to Miss O'Connor's suffering, because the couple was short one dollar and change.
  Mr Brown said: 'I had exactly a $20 bill. It came to $21 and some change. I offered him [the pharmacist] my cell phone, my wallet. I said I live right around the corner. I come in here all the time.
  'I said "Can you just give her the pump. She's on the floor wheezing'. I didn't know if an ambulance would get here on time. He said there was nothing he could do for me.'
  
  

  [Image: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/17/article-0-0BA583C3000005DC-397_468x286.jpg]

  
  
  $1.50 short: Jack Brown said he was astounded that the CVS pharmacist allowed his girlfriend's asthma attack to continue over $1.50
  
  

  [Image: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/17/article-0-0BA583BF000005DC-126_468x286.jpg]

  
  
  No COmment: The CVS staff would not comment on the incident, but head office issued a statement that it takes customer safety seriously
  Miss O'Connor added: 'He said "Well, there's nothing I can do" and I was just blown away.'
  She said she had little medical insureance to speak of, and having to call 911 would have cost her about $1,500 for an ambulance.
  The couple eventually left the pharmacy without the inhaler - even though Miss O'Connor was still having an asthma attack.
  
  
  Read more: Pharmacist refused inhaler to woman having asthma attack... because she was $1.50 short | Mail Online

  
  
  

  Mr Brown remembered that he had a friend who is a paramedic, who came just in time to give Miss O'Connor an inhaler.
  The manager of the CVS pharmacy declined to comment on the matter but a statement was later issued by the company's corporate offices that said: 'The well-being of our customers is our highest priority and we are looking into this matter.'

  
  
  Pharmacist refused inhaler to woman having asthma attack... because she was $1.50 short | Mail Online
• Magenera wrote on 2010-10-19 02:15
  Bureaucracy at it's best things happens, and at its worse then we have this.
  Tonight must be fail night because that all I'm seeing, and in my opinion I haven't even brought in the bad news yet. :D
• Sayoko wrote on 2010-10-19 02:25
  I work at CVS as a pharmacy technician and I have to say, that pharmacist is a total ass.
  At the very least, this guy shouldve got $1.50 out of his own pocket to pay for the poor lady's asthma medication. Pharmacists at CVS do make 110 k per year starting pay, so I don't think 1.50 is gonna kill him...
  
  At my store, this old lady didn't bring enough money for her eye drops because it did not go through insurance as expected. She needed the medication badly so I talked to the pharmacist. He simply said to give her the medication and the next time she comes in, she pays the remainder that she owed.
  
  On a side note: In China, hospitals will just let sick people die outside if they are unable to pay the bill
• Kazuni wrote on 2010-10-19 02:34

  Quote from Sayoko;187386:

  On a side note: In China, hospitals will just let sick people die outside if they are unable to pay the bill

  
  
  That's a horrible generalization.
• Zid wrote on 2010-10-19 02:47
  I think there are people who can do worse for less than $1.50.
  
  Maybe the pharmacist was afraid of the health bill reform.
• Magenera wrote on 2010-10-19 02:47

  Quote from Kazuni;187392:

  That's a horrible generalization.

  
  Because here in America, you can't pay bills, we marginally fix, then send you off somewhere in the city. :D
• woohoohelloppl wrote on 2010-10-19 02:54
  This is exactly why I hate the world now...generally speaking.
• Time wrote on 2010-10-19 03:06
  man, that sucks......I think in order to have a job, you should pass a test, seeing if your a total A hole or not.
• Hiccup wrote on 2010-10-19 03:41
  Gots to have my moneh first!
• Sayoko wrote on 2010-10-19 12:54

  Quote from Kazuni;187392:

  That's a horrible generalization.

  
  
  It's not a generalization. It really happens. Many hospitals in China, even Beijing do not treat you if you can't pay up, no matter how sick you are. It's taken for granted that they treat you first in the US and you pay later.
  
  Here's a first hand account of the horrors of not being able to pay up
  

  
  Born and raised in the US, I have lived in China for almost 30 years, where I have sought emergency medical services three times.
  
  The first time was in Harbin, when my wife slammed into a tree atop a fast-moving sled. A Harbin hospital declared her ankle slightly sprained, and sent us on our way with a bunch of herbal remedies. In HK 3 days later, the x-ray showed her leg badly broken in three places.
  
  The second time was immediately after a horrific car crash in Zhuhai. We were refused treatment at the People's Hospital, as we sat dripping with blood in the emergency room, until such time as we paid a bribe to see a doctor.
  
  The third time was when I was robbed and slashed in Shenzhen, and then taken to People's Hospital Number 2. My head was stitched up, but my right hand -- which was almost severed -- was not attended to for 3-4 hours, during which I lay semi-conscious in the hallway, my hand uncovered. Later, the doctor told me why: I had no cash on me. At her hospital, official policy was that if the patient did not pre-pay for his/her operation, and could not subsequently pay, then the doctor and nurses performing the operation would have the charges subtracted from their pay. Today, I cannot bend the three right-most fingers on my right hand.
  
  These are not made-up stories, or horror stories. If anything, I have been better treated because I am obviously a foreigner. These situations are relatively common occurrences in today's China. The statistic cited in the story, that "more than three out of four" citizens are insured, on the other hand, is a fairy tale. Outside of some white-collar workers, I hardly know anyone who is insured.

• Osayidan wrote on 2010-10-19 13:20
  Maybe in china they leave you outside but in the US they take you in until they check if you can pay or not then toss you out. Watch the documentary `Sicko`.
  Meanwhile in Canada, Cuba and most of Europe you can walk into a hospital without a wallet.
  
  There isn't any excuse, at all, for any developed country in this world to have anything less than free health care and inexpensive medication. There's no argument for it. The only almost-valid argument anyone in the US gives is that it's too expensive, but everyone else manages to do it, even communist Cuba that the US is supposed to be so much better than.
• Kaeporo wrote on 2010-10-19 14:25

  Quote from woohoohelloppl;187425:

  This is exactly why I hate the world now...generally speaking.

  
  
  Unless you've been ignorant to the world until this point, I should inform you that Mankind has always operated like this on occassion.
  
  Without a little bit of insanity, who would read the news?
• Sayoko wrote on 2010-10-19 16:10

  Quote from Osayidan;187705:

  
  There isn't any excuse, at all, for any developed country in this world to have anything less than free health care and inexpensive medication. There's no argument for it. The only almost-valid argument anyone in the US gives is that it's too expensive, but everyone else manages to do it, even communist Cuba that the US is supposed to be so much better than.

  
  
  Yup, that's too expensive but the Iraq War isn't. Even though it costs far far more than anything ever spent on the public sector, not to mention the interest the US will have to pay in the years to come for the war long after it's over.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2010-10-19 16:10

  Quote from Osayidan;187705:

  Maybe in china they leave you outside but in the US they take you in until they check if you can pay or not then toss you out. Watch the documentary `Sicko`.
  Meanwhile in Canada, Cuba and most of Europe you can walk into a hospital without a wallet.
  
  There isn't any excuse, at all, for any developed country in this world to have anything less than free health care and inexpensive medication. There's no argument for it. The only almost-valid argument anyone in the US gives is that it's too expensive, but everyone else manages to do it, even communist Cuba that the US is supposed to be so much better than.

  
  
  There is still emergency treatment. They won't leave you to die. However the level of treatment will be different. For example, if you just got in a car accident and you have a giant metal rod stuck through your leg, they'll pull it out first and then work out the monetary details later.
  
  If you have cancer and you need to treat it, but you don't have the money... they'll redirect you to a far less helpful facility that will take you in for free.
  
  But on all seriousness, you'd think something like this would be one of those advantages to living in a communist nation. But if even that isn't allowed in China, its kinda sad. You'd really think stuff like this is what was supposed to make communism decent enough to consider.
  
  In any case, I would definitely have paid more than enough for a full inhaler out of my own pocket if I saw someone suffering from an asthma attack. Sure I'd ask the lady for money later, but if she couldn't pay I'd just be only a tad bit upset. You can die from asthma, so leaving someone like that is not much different from leaving some hurt person to die.
• rzetlin wrote on 2010-10-19 16:28
  This reminds me of the story where the fire fighters refuse to put out a burning house because the man did not pay $75.
  
  

  
  She said she had little medical insurance to speak of, and having to call 911 would have cost her about $1,500 for an ambulance.
  

  
  
  The USA is heading towards a society where "it's the survival of the fittest" rather than to a society where people are willing to sacrifice their personal wealth (E.g. Higher Taxes) for a better society. (E.g. Healthcare)
  
  
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  Luckily, I live in Canada so I don't have to put up with this nonsense.