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<p>It will vary by state, but the uninsured most likely get their care from public/county hospitals and clinics, funded by taxpayer dollars.</p>
<p>I pay 0.18 percent of my home value in taxes to fund the County Hospital District.</p>
<p>^Yes, after our earlier discussion about states, including Texas, declining to participate in expanded Medicaid, I did a little research and learned that Texas apparently has specific law/regs that provide for charity care for those with qualifying income requirements much like Medicaid, which is funded via tax “districts,” like texaspg describes. So it appears that they do already have a similar system in place, which may be one of the reasons they declined federal expansion.</p>
<p>“which may be one of the reasons they declined federal expansion.”</p>
<p>Surely, if this were part of the reason, somebody doing the declining would have said so. Why would they hide this motivation? It would be a really good reason, if it were true. That’s why I think it isn’t.</p>
<p>I don’t know, but maybe it doesn’t get reported properly.</p>
<p>I was surprised when one of the doctors told me to look up my tax bill because I asked him how the county hospital where he works gets funded if most of the people treated there are uninsured.</p>
<p>It was even more interesting how we got to the uninsured discussion. This particular hospital has the highest rated trauma ER center in the city. We were talking about the ER and he mentioned something to the effect of when there is an accident at 2 AM in the morning and the private ambulances are rushing the injured to the hospital, they decide where to take them based on the car the person is driving. Person driving a run down car gets driven to the county while the person driving a luxury vehicle gets taken to a top notch private hospital ER.</p>
<p>From the Texas Medical Association…</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.texmed.mobi/Template.aspx?id=5517[/url]”>https://www.texmed.mobi/Template.aspx?id=5517</a></p>
<p>There is a medical section and a financial section.</p>
<p>Texas has a law that counties have to provide health care for indigent people. But a person has to be really, really poor to qualify:</p>
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<p><a href=“http://forabettertexas.org/images/HealthCarePrimer_full.pdf[/url]”>http://forabettertexas.org/images/HealthCarePrimer_full.pdf</a> p. 20</p>
<p>A single man who has a 20 hour a week minimum wage job because he couldn’t find a full-time job will not qualify for Indigent Care in Texas counties providing the minimum required by Texas and federal law. He won’t qualify for Medicaid in any Texas county.</p>
<p>They don’t refuse care. They will get a bill. There are people stepping off planes, going to county hospitals, delivering a baby to get a US born certificate and disappearing without paying bills.</p>
<p>There is also Medicaid in Texas. They just don’t want to expand it based on ACA.</p>
<p>Btw, the people who wrote that flyer is where the Lexus driving accident victims get taken. Methodist is the hospital for the luxury vehicle patients.</p>
<p>They refuse to take patients without insurance and print nice flyers advocating for more insurance. I love that.</p>
<p>I see the info from the Texas Medical Association…</p>
<p>Those numbers look good? Even after taking out illegals… Those numbers look good?</p>
<p>For some reason I cant copy and paste the financials or medical situation…</p>
<p>I do like that the state has quite a few medical schools…</p>
<p>So is medicaid going to expand in Texas without ACA?</p>
<p>“Btw, the people who wrote that flyer is where the Lexus driving accident victims get taken. Methodist is the hospital for the luxury vehicle patients.”</p>
<p>Jeez, if I’m driving through that area and get into an accident, I’ll make sure that before I go into cardiac arrest to exclaim, “Don’t judge me by my beat up car, I have health insurance!”</p>
<p>Along those lines, the last couple of times we have gone to the emergency room, they state that they don’t want insurance payment information until after treatment. But we always found a way to say loudly that we had good insurance, here’s the insurance card, just in case there is a difference, so the hospitals and physicians know that they will get paid.</p>
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<p>I have a hard time believing that, but that may be because I’m lucky enough to live in an area in which that would never happen. The emergency rooms are tiered according to the level of emergency care. There are levels of trauma and the injury is matched up to the hospital. The best emergency room in the area, and arguably the best in the country, is a public institution.</p>
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<p>I don’t think those people are getting off the planes. </p>
<p><a href=“https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/882/~/visit-the-u.s.-while-pregnant-and-the-risks-involved[/url]”>https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/882/~/visit-the-u.s.-while-pregnant-and-the-risks-involved</a></p>
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<p>Really? The last two times I’ve went, that’s the first thing they’ve asked for- even though both times I could barely walk due to the pain. </p>
<p>I don’t think there would be a difference in the ER you’d go to around here… but that’s mostly because everyone goes to a U of M hospital of some sort. There, luckily, are really no 2nd-class U of M hospitals.</p>
<p>OTOH, there are quite a few counties in MI where I could definitely imagine that happening due to incredibly low resources.</p>
<p>I really appreciate texaspg’s post about the cars. </p>
<p>I used to drive an older BMW. Would half of me been shipped to a luxurious hospital and the other half shipped to a county hospital if I got in an accident and needed medical care? :)</p>
<p>I am joking, but that post is interesting. I dont know how rental cars are treated. If I visit Texas I may pay up for a nicer car.</p>
<p>I think a car that has the BMW logo will get you to the luxury hospital, no matter the year. </p>
<p>In Texas, they would think we are lower class, kind of sloppy and unkempt, and ship us off to the indigent emergency rooms. In Seattle, they’d think we’d be the norm, upper middle class.</p>
<p>Yes romani, they said they weren’t allowed to ask about insurance information before treatment. I don’t know if that is a state policy, or specific hospital policy. But we made sure they knew it, as human nature goes, they might just give better treatment if they knew they were getting paid. My husband got awesome medical service, but that may have been more of a function of the ER. No wait, attentive, I will always go back.</p>
<p>Then this isnt true…</p>
<p>“There is also Medicaid in Texas. They just don’t want to expand it based on ACA.”</p>
<p>I hope I am not judged by what I wear or whether I shave or not as far as emergency room care goes. I am going to be in big trouble. :)</p>
<p>Darn it. My wife is right again. I have to go buy some clothes. :)</p>
<p>Ok… I guess I will edit my post based on a deletion.</p>
<p>I find bclintonk’s post very informative. </p>
<p>I posted earlier that private internet companies are going to enroll people. With the problem with the public exchange technology, that can only help people who want to enroll. </p>
<p>I have been thinking about when is the best time to enroll. I doubt the two weeks before Dec 15th are going to be good times. People tend to procrastinate wait until the last minute. Although yoy can wait until March, you wont get coverage Jan 1 unless you sign up by Dec 15th. Maybe, the middle of Nov. Then there is still time to change things if there are screwups. This is just an opinion in progress. :)</p>