YOUR COMMENTS

Carol, you may have a point that we need an overhaul....but we need an insurance overhaul. It's not the responisiblity of people in the medical field to provide free care. This gentleman could have gone to the Emergency room of any hospital and been placed as an Inpatient at no cost if deemed medically necessary. His excuse is a cop out. Plain and simple. It's funny how people don't mind paying for goods but they have a problem when they are required to pay for a service that is intangible. People also generally misplace blame in this arena - they are angry at thier medical provider when they really have a beef with their insurance company. This rapist should have remained in prison. Unfortunatly, he was incarcerated in Laxachussettes. Maybe 'Governor' Duval can take some of the $1.1 million he is using to give his enormous staff raises with and use it to fund a program for the mentally ill.....since his wife was able to get these mental health services with no problem when she needed them.
- Mike, Concord

I am not defending this man by any means however on the issue of his trying to get mental health services, rather he did or didnt, strikes a nerve. I can tell you from first hand exposure that I tried to get help from a multitude of therapist over the years for my adopted children and when they heard they had medicaid insurance they wanted nothing to do with them and then when we changed them to our private insurance when the adoptions were final, we were told that they dont accept insurance anymore. The reason given was that they dont want to hassel with insurance companies and all the paper work and on top of that they have to take a reduced rate and they cant get their going rate thru the insurance companies. This left a real gap as I dont know about you but we couldnt afford to pay $100 plus per hour and that was if they would take them.

Our health & mental health care needs a MAJOR over haul and shame of those medical providers who refuse people that dont have insurance or have coverage and they wont accept insurance. You can call any agency you want for assistance and you still have to wait, even your work assistance programs only take you in and then give you a couple numbers to call to reach a therapist. Go home & call these numbers of therapists, leave them your number and they will call you back between patients (some as long as 2 days!) Then wait to get in for up to 1-2 weeks. That does a lot of good when you need help NOW. We have a pathetic health care system in this state and the US.
- Carol, Epping

Another gift from Massachusetts, the state that keeps on giving.
- Mike, Dover

This must be at least the 20th story I've read here in the last month where a crime has been committed by someone with an extensive prior record. I wonder when a 10 year sentence is actually going to be a full 10 year sentence? How could a convicted felon, a violent convicted felon, be allowed to change his name, or be set free early? Thank God this Judge has the smarts to keep this loser where he belongs.
- Ed, bennington, NH