Broken System

States Halt Haiti Relief

Dispute over medical bills stops airlifts for wounded.

Injured earthquake survivors got lost in American politics this week as the U.S. suspended medical evacuations of Haitians until it could determine who was footing the hospital bill. Military officials announced the suspension Friday. With more than 500 victims airlifted to Florida alone so far, Gov. Charlie Crist demanded on Wednesday that the federal government help pay for medical care, causing military flights out of Haiti to screech to a grinding halt. The move infuriated rescuers: “People are dying in Haiti because they can’t get out,” Dr. Barth Green, who runs a nonprofit that was evacuating patients to Miami, told The New York Times. Crist is currently running for the Senate, where he faces a tough primary challenge from the right in Marco Rubio.