http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=d1670abe-40db-4666-a36c-f3f3f918d8d3
Pamela Fayerman, Vancouver SunPublished: Monday, July 03, 2006
The so-called "bush boys", who drew international attention a few years ago with their tall tale of being raised in the B.C. wilderness, still owe Vernon Jubilee Hospital more than $50,000 in unpaid treatment bills. Kyle and Roen Horn, who were 23 and 16 years of age, respectively, when they ran away in 2003 from their California home and hitchhiked to B.C. to escape forced medical treatment of the younger man's eating disorder, garnered both compassion and disdain for their plight. During a 10-month span, they spun a story told to Vernon area residents that they had grown up in the woods in the Revelstoke area. When their Sacramento-area parents saw their story featured on television, they flew to B.C. to reclaim them and haul them home. But first, Roen Horn had to spend 33 days in hospital to add some weight to his dangerously thin 84-pound frame. The hospital bill came to nearly $70,000 and before declaring bankruptcy, his father paid the health authority $10,000. Although news reports stated the Horn family had been reimbursed by their insurer, IHA officials complained they never passed the money on. In addition to a $66,000 hospital bill, the IHA covered an $8,000 air ambulance bill to send Horn back to California and then spent $6,700 in legal fees to collect the whole debt. A bankruptcy court has ordered the father to repay the money in monthly installments over three years. But it remains unclear if the whole amount will ever be collected. An attempt to contact the family was unsuccessful this week as they have moved from the upscale Sacramento neighborhood to an undisclosed location. The man who answered the phone listed as their number in directory assistance said he is constantly inundated by calls from people who are owed money by them and, apart from the annoyance of the constant bombardment, he wishes he knew where to direct them.
Pamela Fayerman, Vancouver SunPublished: Monday, July 03, 2006
The so-called "bush boys", who drew international attention a few years ago with their tall tale of being raised in the B.C. wilderness, still owe Vernon Jubilee Hospital more than $50,000 in unpaid treatment bills. Kyle and Roen Horn, who were 23 and 16 years of age, respectively, when they ran away in 2003 from their California home and hitchhiked to B.C. to escape forced medical treatment of the younger man's eating disorder, garnered both compassion and disdain for their plight. During a 10-month span, they spun a story told to Vernon area residents that they had grown up in the woods in the Revelstoke area. When their Sacramento-area parents saw their story featured on television, they flew to B.C. to reclaim them and haul them home. But first, Roen Horn had to spend 33 days in hospital to add some weight to his dangerously thin 84-pound frame. The hospital bill came to nearly $70,000 and before declaring bankruptcy, his father paid the health authority $10,000. Although news reports stated the Horn family had been reimbursed by their insurer, IHA officials complained they never passed the money on. In addition to a $66,000 hospital bill, the IHA covered an $8,000 air ambulance bill to send Horn back to California and then spent $6,700 in legal fees to collect the whole debt. A bankruptcy court has ordered the father to repay the money in monthly installments over three years. But it remains unclear if the whole amount will ever be collected. An attempt to contact the family was unsuccessful this week as they have moved from the upscale Sacramento neighborhood to an undisclosed location. The man who answered the phone listed as their number in directory assistance said he is constantly inundated by calls from people who are owed money by them and, apart from the annoyance of the constant bombardment, he wishes he knew where to direct them.
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