5 ms·

> Hospitals aren't allowed to deny care (obviously). They will bill people outrageous amounts and know that they will only ever see a fraction of it. So prices

> Hospitals aren't allowed to deny care (obviously). They will bill people outrageous amounts and know that they will only ever see a fraction of it. So prices for people who do pay are raised considerably to make up for it. They absolutely can. They just can't refuse care if you're actively dying or your condition's quickly deteriorating (they have to "stabilize" you). This makes the ER loophole, such as it is, useless as a backdoor for obtaining most hospital care. Plus if you go in for something that's not actually an emergency, they'll just make you wait until you leave. They'll never treat you.

heavyset_go 4y ago
This is an important distinction. Nobody is getting free chemo or radiation therapy, treatment for chronic illness or anything like. For example, diabetics are not going to get a supply of insulin from the ER, especially if they can't pay, and someone with cancer isn't going to get treatment, either. Plenty of people die in the US from the inability to afford the medical care they need to live. If you're brought into the ER because of a heart attack or are bleeding profusely, your care won't be denied, but you will pay for it in some way later.
- missedthecue 4y ago
  "Nobody is getting free chemo or radiation therapy, treatment for chronic illness or anything like" Sure you can. In the US, you cannot be denied chemo or other treatments. You will be billed after the fact, and it's going to be a ton of money, but it's not as if they have security escort you out just because you don't have an insurance card. That simply doesn't happen. You'll get care, and if you don't qualify for aid programs or indigent care schemes (of which there are many), you'll probably file for bankruptcy and have the slate wiped clean. By law, nonprofit hospitals must provide charity care to needy patients. 57% of US hospitals are non-profit. Only 24% are for-profit. (The rest are government run)
  - fellowniusmonk 4y ago
    I've known many people denied care, myself included, I've been asked to pay up up front or we don't admit you. This includes treatment for brain tumors and infection. ERs can't deny life saving care, but that's the exception. Is this the conception people have of the US healthcare system? That everyone's taken care of so why are they complaining? Let me disabuse you of that notion.
  - heavyset_go 4y ago
    > Sure you can. In the US, you cannot be denied chemo or other treatments. You will be billed after the fact, and it's going to be a ton of money, but it's not as if they have security escort you out just because you don't have an insurance card. That simply doesn't happen. This does, indeed, happen all of the time.

heavyset_go 4y ago

This is an important distinction. Nobody is getting free chemo or radiation therapy, treatment for chronic illness or anything like. For example, diabetics are not going to get a supply of insulin from the ER, especially if they can't pay, and someone with cancer isn't going to get treatment, either. Plenty of people die in the US from the inability to afford the medical care they need to live. If you're brought into the ER because of a heart attack or are bleeding profusely, your care won't be denied, but you will pay for it in some way later.

missedthecue 4y ago
"Nobody is getting free chemo or radiation therapy, treatment for chronic illness or anything like" Sure you can. In the US, you cannot be denied chemo or other treatments. You will be billed after the fact, and it's going to be a ton of money, but it's not as if they have security escort you out just because you don't have an insurance card. That simply doesn't happen. You'll get care, and if you don't qualify for aid programs or indigent care schemes (of which there are many), you'll probably file for bankruptcy and have the slate wiped clean. By law, nonprofit hospitals must provide charity care to needy patients. 57% of US hospitals are non-profit. Only 24% are for-profit. (The rest are government run)
- fellowniusmonk 4y ago
  I've known many people denied care, myself included, I've been asked to pay up up front or we don't admit you. This includes treatment for brain tumors and infection. ERs can't deny life saving care, but that's the exception. Is this the conception people have of the US healthcare system? That everyone's taken care of so why are they complaining? Let me disabuse you of that notion.
- heavyset_go 4y ago
  > Sure you can. In the US, you cannot be denied chemo or other treatments. You will be billed after the fact, and it's going to be a ton of money, but it's not as if they have security escort you out just because you don't have an insurance card. That simply doesn't happen. This does, indeed, happen all of the time.