[SUBMITTED] Filial Fidelity

[Verdant Haven]

Filial Responsibility laws – laws which can make adult children involuntarily responsible for their parents' medical and care bills should the parent fail to pay – exist in 30 of the 50 US states, as well as the two largest economies in Europe and two of the top three in Asia, plus a few others. Around a third of the world's population lives under these laws. Suffice it to say they can be controversial, but are rarely tested.

Third draft

[TITLE] Filial Fidelity

[DESCRIPTION] @@DEMONYM@@ citizen @@random_name(1)@@ was recently shocked to find @@HIM(1)@@self being sued by the medical facility at which @@HIS(1)@@ estranged mother received treatment. Claiming thousands in unpaid bills, and with the patient having no resources of her own, the facility is pursuing her only child for the outstanding balance.

[VALIDITY] Has Courts, Capitalist, No Universal Healthcare, No Vats

[OPTION 1] "How can I be responsible for this?" howls @@random_lastname(1)@@, waving the court filing in your face. "I had nothing to do with my mother going to that place. Heck, we aren't even on speaking terms! I've only just been getting on my feet after years of her abuse, and now these vultures want to rip it all away to pay for that harridan? Please, @@LEADER@@, you must declare that family members can't be sued over each other's medical debt!"

[EFFECT 1] parents giddily refuse to pay their toddlers' medical bills

[OPTION 2] "If we dumped her out on the street, I bet it would be you who was suing us!" snaps @@random_name(2)@@, Director of the facility in question, while casually checking a diamond-encrusted wristwatch. "@@LEADER@@, we have a professional responsibility to care for those in need, but if you allow this, every patient we've got will just hide their money and claim indigence! We'll be left holding the bills for countless staff hours, expensive medications, and we'll be bankrupt in a week. If you care about family values, you have to mandate family responsibility. It's not our fault this @@MAN(1)@@ doesn't love @@HIS(1)@@ own mother!"

[EFFECT 2] citizens are bankrupted by injuries to cousins they've never met

[OPTION 3] "I have an idea that might ruffle a few feathers," announces your Chief of Plumage Disturbance, @@random_name(3)@@, quickly sketching a Venn Diagram in @@HIS@@ notebook. "On one side, you've got folks like @@random_lastname(2)@@ who need to be paid for their services. On the other side, you've got families like the @@random_lastname(1)@@s who really can't afford the medical bills every time some 3rd cousin twice removed needs care. You know who can afford it? The government! If we just raise taxes across the board, we can introduce universal state-provided health care. When everybody pays, everybody wins!"

[EFFECT 3] the possibility of gain causes universal pain

2nd draft

[TITLE] Filial Fidelity

[DESCRIPTION] @@DEMONYM@@ citizen @@random_name(1)@@ was recently shocked to find @@HIM(1)@@self the defendant in a lawsuit filed by the medical facility at which @@HIS(1)@@ estranged mother received treatment. Claiming thousands in unpaid bills, and with the patient having no resources of her own, the facility elected to pursue her only child for the outstanding balance.

[VALIDITY] Has Courts, Capitalist, No Universal Healthcare, No Vats

[OPTION 1] "How can I be responsible for this?" howls @@random_lastname(1)@@, waving the court filing in your face. "I had nothing to do with my mother going to that place. Heck, we aren't even on speaking terms! My partner and I have only just been getting on our own feet, and now these vultures want to rip away what little we have to pay for that harridan? Please, @@LEADER@@, you must declare that family members can't be sued over each other's medical debt!"

[EFFECT 1] pediatricians struggle to extract payment from toddlers

[OPTION 2] "If we dumped her out on the street, I bet it would be you who was suing us!" snaps @@random_name(2)@@, Director of the facility in question. "@@LEADER@@, we have a professional responsibility to care for those in need, but if you allow this, every patient we've got will just hide their money and claim indigence! We'll be left holding the bills for countless staff hours, expensive medications, and we'll be bankrupt in a week. If you care about family values, you have to mandate family responsibility. It's not our fault this @@MAN(1)@@ doesn't love @@HIS(1)@@ own mother!"

[EFFECT 2] citizens are bankrupted by injuries to cousins they've never met

[OPTION 3] "I have an idea that might ruffle a few feathers," announces your Chief of Plumage Disturbance, @@random_name(3)@@, quickly sketching a Venn Diagram in @@HIS@@ notebook. "On one side, you've got folks like @@random_lastname(2)@@ who need to be paid for their services. On the other side, you've got families like the @@random_lastname(1)@@s who really can't afford the medical bills every time some 3rd cousin twice removed needs care. You know who can afford it? The government! If we just raise taxes across the board, we can introduce universal state-provided health care. When everybody pays, everybody wins!"

[EFFECT 3] universal gain requires universal pain

1st draft

[TITLE] Filial Fidelity

[DESCRIPTION] @@DEMONYM@@ citizen @@random_name(1)@@ was recently shocked to find @@HIM(1)@@self the defendant in a lawsuit filed by the care home at which @@HIS(1)@@ estranged mother is resident. Claiming thousands in unpaid bills, and with the patient having no resources of her own, the facility has elected to pursue her only child for the outstanding balance.

[VALIDITY] Has Courts, Capitalist, No Universal Healthcare

[OPTION 1] "How can I be responsible for this?" howls @@random_lastname(1)@@, waving the court filing in your face. "I don't have anything to do with my mother being in that place. Heck, we aren't even on speaking terms! My partner and I have only just been getting on our own feet, and now these vultures want to rip away what little we have to pay for that harridan? Please, @@LEADER@@, you must declare that all debts are the responsibility of the one who incurs them, and nobody else!"

[EFFECT 1] terminal patients have suddenly become remarkably philanthropic

[OPTION 2] "If we dumped her out on the street, I bet it would be you who was suing us!" snaps @@random_name(2)@@, Director of the care home in question. "@@LEADER@@, we have a professional responsibility to care for those in need, but if you allow this, every patient we've got will just give their money away and claim indigence! We'll be left holding the bills for countless staff hours, expensive medications, and we'll be bankrupt in a week. If you care about family values, you have to mandate family responsibility. It's not our fault this @@MAN(1)@@ doesn't love @@HIS(1)@@ own mother!"

[EFFECT 2] citizens are bankrupted by injuries to cousins they've never met

[OPTION 3] "I have an idea that might ruffle a few feathers," announces your Chief of Plumage Disturbance, @@random_name(3)@@, quickly sketching a Venn Diagram in @@HIS@@ notebook. "On one side, you've got folks like @@random_lastname(2)@@ who need to be paid for their services. On the other side, you've got families like the @@random_lastname(1)@@s who really can't afford the medical bills every time some 3rd cousin twice removed needs care. You know who can afford it? The government! If we just raise taxes across the board, we can introduce universal state-provided health care. When everybody pays, everybody wins!"

[EFFECT 3] taxpayers are griping about the government's new "right to be alive"

[Australian rePublic]

Universal health care and the government paying for nursing homes are two completely different things. You can have one without the other (as is evident here in Australia)

[Verdant Haven]

This is in the news again, and the draft has been updated.

- Adjusted description to reflect a more generic "medical facility" rather than just a care home
- Modified speaker 1's dialogue to sound a bit more like a human, and to flow into option 2 a bit better.
- Very slightly adjusted speaker 2's dialogue
- Replaced first and third effect lines

[Baggieland]

No Universal Healthcare

As this is for nations without an NHS, if a player chooses option 1, how will the medical facility get what is rightfully theirs? I would expect the health care stats to take a huge hit with option 1 in its current state.

[Verdant Haven]

No Universal Healthcare

As this is for nations without an NHS, if a player chooses option 1, how will the medical facility get what is rightfully theirs? I would expect the health care stats to take a huge hit with option 1 in its current state.

In the US, suing random family members (and even friends and neighbors) who had little or nothing to do with the service being provided, and who have no legal responsibility, is something that a lot providers try to do. They rarely succeed in court unless they're going after a child in a filial responsibility state (especially Pennsylvania, which is mercenary in this regard), but more often they rely on bullying people who don't have lawyers, using debt collectors and frivolous lawsuits to extract payment for debt that isn't theirs. It's extremely predatory.

Here's an article from just yesterday about this issue, which actually includes the exact scenario I used to set up this issue (an estranged mother's child, not on speaking terms, being sued by a facility for her bills). I'd never heard of this particular case before - it's just that common.

Speculating - there would likely be a hit to healthcare with this, since the predatory providers would be impacted or even knocked out of business. The extremity of the effect line proposed is, of course, meant as a joke. Parental responsibility laws are an entirely different matter from filial ones.

[Verdant Haven]

I've done a few more tweaks and adjustments to try and reduce wordiness and strengthen characterization.

[TITLE] Filial Fidelity

[DESCRIPTION] @@DEMONYM@@ citizen @@random_name(1)@@ was recently shocked to find @@HIM(1)@@self being sued by the medical facility at which @@HIS(1)@@ estranged mother received treatment. Claiming thousands in unpaid bills, and with the patient having no resources of her own, the facility is pursuing her only child for the outstanding balance.

[VALIDITY] Has Courts, Capitalist, No Universal Healthcare, No Vats

[OPTION 1] "How can I be responsible for this?" howls @@random_lastname(1)@@, waving the court filing in your face. "I had nothing to do with my mother going to that place. Heck, we aren't even on speaking terms! I've only just been getting on my feet after years of her abuse, and now these vultures want to rip it all away to pay for that harridan? Please, @@LEADER@@, you must declare that family members can't be sued over each other's medical debt!"

[EFFECT 1] parents giddily refuse to pay their toddlers' medical bills

[OPTION 2] "If we dumped her out on the street, I bet it would be you who was suing us!" snaps @@random_name(2)@@, Director of the facility in question, while casually checking a diamond-encrusted wristwatch. "@@LEADER@@, we have a professional responsibility to care for those in need, but if you allow this, every patient we've got will just hide their money and claim indigence! We'll be left holding the bills for countless staff hours, expensive medications, and we'll be bankrupt in a week. If you care about family values, you have to mandate family responsibility. It's not our fault this @@MAN(1)@@ doesn't love @@HIS(1)@@ own mother!"

[EFFECT 2] citizens are bankrupted by injuries to cousins they've never met

[OPTION 3] "I have an idea that might ruffle a few feathers," announces your Chief of Plumage Disturbance, @@random_name(3)@@, quickly sketching a Venn Diagram in @@HIS@@ notebook. "On one side, you've got folks like @@random_lastname(2)@@ who need to be paid for their services. On the other side, you've got families like the @@random_lastname(1)@@s who really can't afford the medical bills every time some 3rd cousin twice removed needs care. You know who can afford it? The government! If we just raise taxes across the board, we can introduce universal state-provided health care. When everybody pays, everybody wins!"

[EFFECT 3] the possibility of gain causes universal pain

[Newland City]

I've done a few more tweaks and adjustments to try and reduce wordiness and strengthen characterization.

[TITLE] Filial Fidelity

[DESCRIPTION] @@DEMONYM@@ citizen @@random_name(1)@@ was recently shocked to find @@HIM(1)@@self being sued by the medical facility at which @@HIS(1)@@ estranged mother received treatment. Claiming thousands in unpaid bills, and with the patient having no resources of her own, the facility is pursuing her only child for the outstanding balance.

[VALIDITY] Has Courts, Capitalist, No Universal Healthcare, No Vats

[OPTION 1] "How can I be responsible for this?" howls @@random_lastname(1)@@, waving the court filing in your face. "I had nothing to do with my mother going to that place. Heck, we aren't even on speaking terms! I've only just been getting on my feet after years of her abuse, and now these vultures want to rip it all away to pay for that harridan? Please, @@LEADER@@, you must declare that family members can't be sued over each other's medical debt!"

[EFFECT 1] parents giddily refuse to pay their toddlers' medical bills

[OPTION 2] "If we dumped her out on the street, I bet it would be you who was suing us!" snaps @@random_name(2)@@, Director of the facility in question, while casually checking a diamond-encrusted wristwatch. "@@LEADER@@, we have a professional responsibility to care for those in need, but if you allow this, every patient we've got will just hide their money and claim indigence! We'll be left holding the bills for countless staff hours, expensive medications, and we'll be bankrupt in a week. If you care about family values, you have to mandate family responsibility. It's not our fault this @@MAN(1)@@ doesn't love @@HIS(1)@@ own mother!"

[EFFECT 2] citizens are bankrupted by injuries to cousins they've never met

[OPTION 3] "I have an idea that might ruffle a few feathers," announces your Chief of Plumage Disturbance, @@random_name(3)@@, quickly sketching a Venn Diagram in @@HIS@@ notebook. "On one side, you've got folks like @@random_lastname(2)@@ who need to be paid for their services. On the other side, you've got families like the @@random_lastname(1)@@s who really can't afford the medical bills every time some 3rd cousin twice removed needs care. You know who can afford it? The government! If we just raise taxes across the board, we can introduce universal state-provided health care. When everybody pays, everybody wins!"

[EFFECT 3] the possibility of gain causes universal pain

The effect lines hit a little harder in the earlier draft, arguably so for 1 and definitely for 3

[TheKeyToJoy]

I've done a few more tweaks and adjustments to try and reduce wordiness and strengthen characterization.

[TITLE] Filial Fidelity

[DESCRIPTION] @@DEMONYM@@ citizen @@random_name(1)@@ was recently shocked to find @@HIM(1)@@self being sued by the medical facility at which @@HIS(1)@@ estranged mother received treatment. Claiming thousands in unpaid bills, and with the patient having no resources of her own, the facility is pursuing her only child for the outstanding balance.

[VALIDITY] Has Courts, Capitalist, No Universal Healthcare, No Vats

[OPTION 1] "How can I be responsible for this?" howls @@random_lastname(1)@@, waving the court filing in your face. "I had nothing to do with my mother going to that place. Heck, we aren't even on speaking terms! I've only just been getting on my feet after years of her abuse, and now these vultures want to rip it all away to pay for that harridan? Please, @@LEADER@@, you must declare that family members can't be sued over each other's medical debt!"

[EFFECT 1] parents giddily refuse to pay their toddlers' medical bills

[OPTION 2] "If we dumped her out on the street, I bet it would be you who was suing us!" snaps @@random_name(2)@@, Director of the facility in question, while casually checking a diamond-encrusted wristwatch. "@@LEADER@@, we have a professional responsibility to care for those in need, but if you allow this, every patient we've got will just hide their money and claim indigence! We'll be left holding the bills for countless staff hours, expensive medications, and we'll be bankrupt in a week. If you care about family values, you have to mandate family responsibility. It's not our fault this @@MAN(1)@@ doesn't love @@HIS(1)@@ own mother!"

[EFFECT 2] citizens are bankrupted by injuries to cousins they've never met

[OPTION 3] "I have an idea that might ruffle a few feathers," announces your Chief of Plumage Disturbance, @@random_name(3)@@, quickly sketching a Venn Diagram in @@HIS@@ notebook. "On one side, you've got folks like @@random_lastname(2)@@ who need to be paid for their services. On the other side, you've got families like the @@random_lastname(1)@@s who really can't afford the medical bills every time some 3rd cousin twice removed needs care. You know who can afford it? The government! If we just raise taxes across the board, we can introduce universal state-provided health care. When everybody pays, everybody wins!"

[EFFECT 3] the possibility of gain causes universal pain

You know one of the options will be corruption for some weird reason.

[TalAkMaChen]

Issue number 1611 is in, congratulations!

[Australian rePublic]

Congrats!