black…MYstory

It looks like this is going to be a running narrative for Clinton. First, there is the infamous story about the sniper fire. Then, there’s the big dispute about whether or not she, as first lady, helped broker peace in Ireland. Next, after claiming how she was so greatly against NAFTA, the Clinton White House documents were released showing how she was heavily involved in getting it pushed through, even strategizing on how to battle labor and human rights groups who would object to this agreement.

Now, another story is coming out and, though some may not consider this as big but, when put together with the others, might raise some more questions.

First of all, let me be clear — I am all for universal healthcare. I think it’s necessary and long overdue in this country. However, there are plenty of horror stories about people dying from lack of appropriate care. So, if Clinton has been spreading an untrue tale along these lines, she should be ashamed.

What am I talking about, you ask?

On the campaign trail, Sen. Clinton has been telling a story about an Ohio woman who lost her baby and, ultimately, her own life after being denied health care and not being able to come up with the $100 fee.

Now, the hospital in question is disputing her story. If what they say is true, the Clinton camp really got the story twisted. According to the hospital, this is the real deal:

The woman, Trina Bachtel, did die last August, two weeks after her baby boy was stillborn at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens, Ohio. But hospital administrators said Friday that Ms. Bachtel was under the care of an obstetrics practice affiliated with the hospital, that she was never refused treatment and that she was, in fact, insured.

“We implore the Clinton campaign to immediately desist from repeating this story,” said Rick Castrop, chief executive officer of the O’Bleness Health System.

Linda M. Weiss, a spokeswoman for the not-for-profit hospital, said the Clinton campaign had never contacted the hospital to check the accuracy of the story, which Mrs. Clinton had first heard from a Meigs County, Ohio, sheriff’s deputy in late February.

A Clinton spokesman, Mo Elleithee, said candidates would frequently retell stories relayed to them, vetting them when possible. “In this case, we did try but were not able to fully vet it,” Mr. Elleithee said. “If the hospital claims it did not happen that way, we respect that.”

The sheriff’s deputy, Bryan Holman, had played host to Mrs. Clinton in his home before the Ohio primary. Deputy Holman said in a telephone interview that a conversation about health care led him to relate the story of Ms. Bachtel. He never mentioned the name of the hospital that supposedly turned her away because he did not know it, he said.

Deputy Holman knew Ms. Bachtel’s story only secondhand, having learned it from close relatives of the woman. Ms. Bachtel’s relatives did not return phone calls Friday.

Now, you would think that with all the highly-paid people on her staff and the fact that Sen. Clinton is no dummy herself, somebody would have actually verified this story before continuing to spread it.

Hell, if you want a real story that highlights this need, I’ll gladly offer you the story of Deamonte Driver, a boy who ultimately died of a brain infection that started from an abcessed tooth. His mother couldn’t afford the $80 to get it fixed and couldn’t find an oral surgeon who would accept Medicaid.

Or, she could have talked about the story of 17-year-old Nataline Sarkisyan, who died just six hours after her insurance company, Cigna, was shamed into agreeing to pay for her liver transplant. This company had denied her claim 9 days earlier, even though her physicians said that she was clearly a candidate for this transplant. Oh, now I remember why Clinton wouldn’t talk about her — her campaign blasted John Edwards for talking about Nataline’s case back in January.

What did they say? Campaign spokesperson Jay Carson stated, “the references in Senator Clinton’s speeches are about people she has actually helped and changes she has actually made, not stories she’s pulled from the newspaper and included in her stump.”

Oh, wait a minute…Clinton only talks about people she’s helped, not from stories she’s gotten secondhand?

I wonder if these words will come back to haunt them? Oh, wait, they just did.

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