Evacuations of Injured Haitians to the US Have Been Suspended

In response to reports over a dispute over who would pay for patients' care, White House spokesperson said Saturday that flights transporting critically injured Haitians into the United States have been temporarily suspended due to logistical issues.

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said:

"There has been no policy decision by anyone to suspend evacuee flights -- this situation arose as we started to run out of room. Agencies across the [U.S. government] are working on solutions such as standing up hospitals for the critically ill in Haiti."

The US military, however, told a different tale on Saturday, stating that the flights were stopped on Wednesday because "some states are unwilling to allow entry for Haitian nations for critical care."

Navy Capt. Kevin Aandahl, a spokesman for the US Transportation Command, declined to reveal which states objected to receiving injured Haitians.

The New York Times first reported the suspension of flights on Saturday. According to Vietor, the White House is working closely with states, international partners, nongovernmental organizations and the Haitian government to provide medical care to victims of the January 12 earthquake.

Vietor also noted that officials are working to offload patients from the Navy's hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, to free up space for the critically injured.

Earlier this week, Florida Governor Charlie Crist asked the federal government to shoulder some of the cost caring for the injured Haitians. Crist wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, asking the federal government to activate the National Disaster Medical System to provide reimbursement to the state of Florida and other states for taking in these patients who have no insurance. Crist said he had learned of a plan to evacuate between 30 to 50 critically injured patients per day from the devastated country. He wrote:

"Florida does not have the capacity to support such an operation. Additional factors complicate Florida's current healthcare system capacity and we are at a current peak from winter tourism and seasonal residence migration."

Now, Florida officials are saying that the state remains committed to assisting earthquake victims and denied asking that the airlift be halted due to a dispute over costs.