There's a difference between immediate stabilization, required by law, and life saving surgery in general, not required by law. If you come in with a gaping he

There's a difference between immediate stabilization, required by law, and life saving surgery in general, not required by law. If you come in with a gaping head wound and can't pay, by law, hospitals are required to treat you. If you come in with brain cancer, no one is compelled to give you the radiation, chemotherapy or surgeries you may require, even though it is literally life saving. You are stable, albeit slowly dying, so too bad.