Your main point is not true. First: hospitals are required by law to stabilize you regardless of your ability to pay. Stabilize. They are not required to tre

Your main point is not true. First: hospitals are required by law to stabilize you regardless of your ability to pay. Stabilize. They are not required to treat you beyond getting you to the point you won't die on your way out of the ER. Second: many of the better medical practices, UCSF Ortho for example, will not treat you if you don't have insurance. Third: bankruptcy is not quite as straightforward as you make it sound, and if you have any assets, you may well lose them. You can have $10 or $20k and still find a $100k surgery very expensive. For example, in CA, you can only protect $3k or $5k, depending, of value in your car during bankruptcy. And there isn't a $3k or $5k car in the US worth a damn.