Rape Victims In Wisconsin Are Being Charged For Rape Kits

Rape Victims In Wisconsin Are Being Charged For Rape Kits
(addictinginfo.org)

Despite the fact that they should be charging the state, hospitals in Wisconsin are charging victims of sexual assault as much as $1,200 for exams and pictures

Article links to
Sex assault victims in Wisconsin get billed for exams
(thenorthwestern.com)

Talk about rubbing salt into the wound. Getting a $1,200 bill for your very own rape kit. Between the for-profit-at-all-costs free market hospitals and the pious political zealots who demand that a woman, even one who was raped, be forced to carry any potential pregnancy to full term (or be forced to have an invasive vaginal probe by a doctor if they do attempt to seek an abortion), instead of seeking to help the victim of rape, we just pile on and make it worse.

See also:
Republicans Pass Bill Forcing Vaginal Probes

It's a trend with politicians:
Iowa GOP Targets Abortions For Low-Income Rape, Incest Victims
House GOP Blocking Abortion Access For Soldiers Who Are Raped

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


Its sad, but its not uncommon with ALL Politicians, Democrat and Republican Alike. And you wonder WHY their approval ratings are in the Tank ?

Example.......

The fact that many of the young American women who have selflessly dedicated years of their lives to helping people in the Third World have been the victims of sexual violence while working for the Peace Corps has been swept under the rug by the Agency for decades. Unfortunately, efforts to help the victims are being impeded by partisan considerations in which Democrats refuse to join any effort to pressure the Corps to act.

Democrats Impede Bill to Aid Peace Corps Rape Victims

Well there is planned parenthood for their free birth control pills and abortions how do people expect rape kits to be paid for so that someone else will get the same benefit?

reply to post by Blackmarketeer

Dear Blackmarketeer,

Good to see you alive and kickin'. I agree with your headline, but I'm not quite so sure I agree with your analysis. Start with the rape kit question. From your second link:

A spokeswoman with the state Department of Justice said patients aren’t supposed to be charged, and that hospitals that do bill them are often unaware of government funds that help cover those costs. Jill Karofsky, the executive director of the department’s office of crime-victim services, said the state was working to educate hospitals about the available funds.

Some hospitals charge the victims’ insurance. Others are compensated through one of two funds, made up of state and federal dollars: the Sexual Assault Forensic Exam Fund, which covers people who don’t want to report the crime to police, and the Crime Victim Compensation Fund, which helps people who do report.

The thrust of the article is that there are a few hospitals who are incorrectly billing the patient, but the state is going around to fix that error.

I don't think that charging the victim is either a policy or widespread.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


You can expect much more lunacy from the state government brought to you by the Koch Brothers.

reply to post by LDragonFire

Did you think that this was a charge by the state government? The state is paying the bills, not charging them.

Originally posted by charles1952
reply to post by LDragonFire

 

Did you think that this was a charge by the state government? The state is paying the bills, not charging them.

edit on 1-8-2012 by charles1952 because: bracket error

Notice the idiotic trend?

From the link in op:

Who can forget when four years ago, almost to the day, it was revealed that when Sarah Palin was Mayor of Wasilla, AK, its victims were also charged for their rape kits?

reply to post by LDragonFire

Dear LDragonFire,

Forgive my possible misunderstanding, but it seems that you are ignoring the points in both of my posts. That's OK, of course, but I'd appreciate knowing. I'd hate to think you didn't understand them.

With respect,
Charles1952

Originally posted by charles1952
reply to post by LDragonFire

 

Dear LDragonFire,

Forgive my possible misunderstanding, but it seems that you are ignoring the points in both of my posts. That's OK, of course, but I'd appreciate knowing. I'd hate to think you didn't understand them.

With respect,
Charles1952

It doesn't make any since to me. There are both state and federal funds to be billed, yet hospitals are billing insurance and individuals? The state is saying that they don't know about these funds....I'm not sure I believe this.

Its all really stupid tho, I feel for the women in this state.

Originally posted by neo96
Well there is planned parenthood for their free birth control pills and abortions how do people expect rape kits to be paid for so that someone else will get the same benefit?

I'd expect rape kits to be paid out of victim support funds that criminals are dinged to pay into on everything from restitution fees to imposed fines on top of sentence. That should MORE than cover something as basic to an investigation as a rape kit. It's atrocious to be giving a victim the bill, in my opinion.

This is what really p's me off about hospitals and the outrageous fees they're charging. Do these materials look like they should be costing $1200?

What's in a rape kit?

WHY DOESN'T ANYONE SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS NONSENSE.

well let's face it. The government can't be tasked with it. They need all their money for our defense and security forces.

We have never been safer. It might be their faults they were raped. We don't know. You can't prove it is not their fault and they just want a free ride.