X-Message-Number: 4699
From: Brian Wowk <>
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 1995 01:55:07 -0500
Subject: Patient long term survival

Norton, Brook <> writes:
 
> I believe the basic idea would be to somehow legally tie a lot of funds 
> to the patients.  Enough funds so that the interest not only pays for 
> upkeep, but provides a healthy profit for the overseer.  When a co goes 
> under, the funds tied to the patient(s) are untouchable.  The next co 
> would take over the patients to get access to the profit generated by 
> the "excess interest".  If my cryonics provider goes under, I want to 
> be viewed by the rest of the world as an opportunity for profit rather 
> than a burden to be delt with.
 
        This is a very, very important point.  Your survival does not
depend on the fortunes of any particular company as much as it depends
on the safety of the *money* that pays for your care.  As long as 
enough money exists to support your care, there will always be
someone (even on a wartime black market if necessary) that can provide 
liquid nitrogen to keep you in.
 
        Setting aside money for your care *outside* the hands of your
cryonics company is certainly a good idea.  This will protect it  
from potential abuse, lawsuits, creditor claims or other calamities 
that might befall the company itself.  The first step in this direction  
took place about six years ago with the formation of the Reanimation
Foundation in Leichtenstein by Saul Kent and Bill Faloon.  The Reanimation 
Foundation was (and is) intended as a repository for "surplus" funds of 
wealthy suspendees to safeguard their care should their primary cryonics 
company fail.  Recently Dave Pizer of the Venturists has proposed
forming similar "backup" trust funds under the oversight of the Venturist
organization.  The disadvantage of either of these plans is that they
require thousands of dollars in up-front setup fees, and surplus funds
far in excess your cryonics organization minimums.
 
        Enter CryoCare.  When CryoCare was formed in 1993, the importance
of segregating patient care funds from the companies that provide care
was recognized immediately.  Consequently, when a CryoCare member is  
cryopreserved, all funds remaining after the upfront costs of the
procedure are IMMEDIATELY and AUTOMATICALLY transferred to an INDIVIDUAL
account in a separate money management organization called the 
Independent Patient Care Foundation (IPCF).  The IPCF is legally, 
financially, and administratively independent of CryoCare.  Even if 
CryoCare one day fails completely (embroiled in lawsuits and red ink?), 
the IPCF would remain intact as the ultimate custodian of patient
care funds.
 
        Yet another "separation of powers" exists in CryoCare as well.
CryoCare contracts out the actual physical storage of patients to
other companies.  (We currently have agreements with CryoSpan in 
California and the Cryonics Institute in Michigan.)  This gives us
the option to move patients between companies should any individual
storage company fail.
 
>I know that implementing the above is financially and legally very difficult
>and so I'm not criticizing existing cos for their survival strategies at this
>time... 
 
        Difficult, yes.  But we have done it, and we would like to see
other organizations with primary responsibility for cryonics patients
take steps in this direction as well.
 
Brian Wowk
President
CryoCare Foundation


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