New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine read a get-well card in his hospital room in Camden on Thursday.
(Mel Evans/Associated Press)
Corzine says he'll pay his crash-related medical bills
TRENTON , N.J. -- Governor Jon S. Corzine will forgo his state health insurance and spend hundreds of thousands of his own money to pay for his medical care from a serious car accident, a spokesman said yesterday.
The spokesman for Corzine, a multimillionaire from his days leading
The Democrat's decision to pay for his own healthcare from the April 12 accident spares taxpayers a hefty tab.
"He's been fortunate in life, and there's no reason to have taxpayers foot the bill," spokesman Anthony Coley said.
Corzine is covered by the state's medical insurance plan, like all state workers.
"We don't know yet the total cost of his care right now, but we expect it will be hundreds of thousands of dollars," Coley said. "From the Medevac helicopter to the hospital stay to the cheeseburgers to the strawberry milkshakes, the governor intends to pay for all of it himself."
The accident left Corzine with a broken leg and other injuries, including 11 broken ribs and a cracked collarbone and sternum.
Sitting in a chair next to his hospital bed yesterday, he appeared in good spirits as state workers prepared for him to resume his duties from the governor's mansion in Princeton, just north of the capital, Trenton.
They were installing fiber-optic cable to allow Corzine to do video conferencing from Princeton, where he will undergo physical therapy, Coley said.
Senate President Richard J. Codey, who has been working as acting governor, met with Corzine yesterday and said he expects him to leave the hospital Tuesday or Wednesday.
No decision has been made on when Corzine will return to work, but Codey said the governor expects to have a better idea within a few days of leaving the hospital.
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