# A basic (probably stupid) question about the current health care system **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 20, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-basic-probably-stupid-question-about-the-current-health-care-system/533127 "2010-03-20T13:12:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-basic-probably-stupid-question-about-the-current-health-care-system/533127/21 "2010-03-21T11:52:06Z")
> [@threemae](#): > > A large proportion of the people who are uninsured that face major medical illness do eventually qualify for Medicaid. At my current institution, I often see marginally employed people of modest means and no insurance come in for something like cholecystitis, get their gall-bladder removed, and qualify for Medicaid in the same visit, and Medicaid will cover the admission during which they qualified. This is what happened to me, I was between jobs and between insurance policies when I had a complicated case of cholecystitis, the hospitalization and surgery were covered by Medicaid, but only the first post-surgical follow-up visit was covered, and even when I nearly died the following year, there was no help for me. I’ll be paying off those bills for several more years to come, in lieu of buying a home or a nice car. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-basic-probably-stupid-question-about-the-current-health-care-system/533127/22 "2010-03-21T12:51:01Z")
> [@legalsnugs](#): > > if the hospital has reason to believe you’ve disposed of assets to avoid paying (or in anticipation of) your just debt, they will sue you, whoever you sold your house to and whoever you gave away money to. Fraudulent conveyance or no, there are at least thousands of people who sell all their assets and declare bankruptcy in the hope that it will qualify them for Medicaid. The question has been largely addressed, but to boil it down: Hospitals will provide emergency treatment, even if you cannot pay. But they don’t just assume you can’t pay – they’ll continue to pursue you for payment. While many hospitals will be willing to work out a payment plan, medical treatment is so complex that such plans often either drive the patient to bankruptcy or take years, sometimes decades to repay. Some hospitals will provide additional, non-emergent care as well, but this is becoming more rare as most hospitals are being squeezed by their own debts and cannot afford to provide more than the minimum required by law. Regardless, costs of “uncompensated” hospital care are passed on to patients who are paying, driving up their costs and everyone’s insurance rates (even those who never get sick). In general, you won’t be able to efficiently schedule doctor’s appointments, tests, or ongoing treatments for your conditions, because those providers don’t have a legal obligation to provide care regardless of ability to pay. You may have some success relying on charity-provided care, esp. in metropolitan areas. As **threemae** notes, because only emergent care is legally required, many illnesses that could be treated at relatively low cost on an ongoing basis, with relatively low damage to quality of life, go untreated until the progression of the disease makes them imperative to treat – much more expensively, and will much more severe disabling effect. (Relatedly, many un- or underinsured forgo treatment when they first become sick because they don’t think they can afford it. When they finally do get it checked, it’s harder and more expensive to treat, with less chance of full recovery, or in fact any recovery at all. We all know that most cancers, for instance, are much more treatable if it’s caught early.) Because you’re not relieved of your obligation to pay the hospital simply because you can’t afford it, there’s a significant chance, esp. with continuing illness, that you’ll lose your assets, not to mention the likelihood of losing your job. Many in this situation declare bankruptcy. (60% of U.S. bankruptcies result from medical costs.) Eventually, some will become poor enough that they qualify for Medicaid. Some will become disabled enough that they qualify for Medicare. And between 20-40 thousand or more every year drop dead because they didn’t have health insurance. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-basic-probably-stupid-question-about-the-current-health-care-system/533127/23 "2010-03-22T17:31:42Z")
> [@legalsnugs](#): > > In certain circles (legal ones), this is known as “fraudulent conveyance” and if the hospital has reason to believe you’ve disposed of assets to avoid paying (or in anticipation of) your just debt, they will sue you, whoever you sold your house to and whoever you gave away money to. > > Just sayin’. This may be a bit out of date, but when my late father was ill, and my sister and I were filling out forms on his behalf with the Medicare/Medicad people, they required two years’ worth of his bank statements and other financial records. If he had sold or given away any substantial amount of assets his claim would have been denied. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-basic-probably-stupid-question-about-the-current-health-care-system/533127.md?page=1)