Injured Haitians Dying After Flights to Florida Halted

An injured girl lies on the side of the road as she is attended to the day after an earthquake hit Port-au-Prince

A University of Miami doctor in Haiti says the U.S. government is endangering the lives of critically injured Haitians by halting medical evacuations to the United States.

Dr. Barth Green says his team has, ``100 critically ill patients who will die in the next day or two'' if they aren't flown out.

Green pointed Saturday to a 5-year-old girl with tetanus from a minor leg wound. He says she will die in 24 hours without a respirator.

The flights were halted in a dispute over payment for care. Green says his group has hospitals ready to receive the patients and blames ``the highest levels of the U.S. government'' for preventing them from flying out.

He says, ``this is really not what America is all about.''

The U.S. military has halted flights carrying Haitian earthquake victims to the United States, apparently in a dispute over medical care costs.

The evacuations were suspended Wednesday, a day after Florida Gov. Charlie Crist asked the federal government to help pay for care. The story was first reported by the New York Times.

U.S. Transportation Command spokesman Capt. Kevin Aandahl says some states were unwilling to approve transportation for some critical cases.

Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey said Saturday that he was not aware of any hospital in Florida refusing those patients. However, in a letter Tuesday to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the governor said Florida's health care system ``is quickly reaching saturation.''