Comment on How do poor people in the states give birth without money?
Ktanaqui@lemm.ee 7 months ago
As far as I know, Hospitals are not allowed to refuse you care; no matter what your finances are, they have to help you. Many people would go to ER for non-ER reasons because it was/is the only way for them to get treatment. (Because other medical centers can refuse you.)
The hospitals will try to get the money from you however they can and they do offer payment plans based on income. Ultimately, though, due many? The debt gets discharged to a debt collection agency that harasses you incessantly for 7 years until it gets discharged from your record.
It destroys your credit (an arbitrary number that every citizen has that supposedly shows how trustworthy they are and how much they are likely to pay you if you loan them money) until it drops off after the statute of limitations (7-10 years, depending on the state).
jeffw@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Unless you enter through the ER, a healthcare system can deny you.
Ktanaqui@lemm.ee 7 months ago
From my post: “Many people would go to the ER for non-ER reasons because it was the only way to get treatment when you didn’t have the money to pay”
Seems pretty obvious that I meant the ER…
jeffw@lemmy.world 7 months ago
You distinguished between medical centers and hospitals, while most practices are hospital-owned now.
Ktanaqui@lemm.ee 7 months ago
Perhaps I could have included a list of other places as an example that can refuse you for financial reasons. It would have helped for people not familiar with the system…