If you are sick, what do you do?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>I know this question is not totally geared for premeds, but I guess this is the best forum on CC where you find the advise of those most familiar with the US medical system.</p>

<p>I know a person who is terribly sick, but whose parents have no medical insurance whatsoever. She is from a very low income family, and the family doctor couldn’t figure out what’s wrong with her. They are considering sending her to the hospital, but are scared that they might not be able to pay the expenses, and the hospital will end up confiscating their homes. The doctor visit already cost too much for them, but they are scared her situation might worsen.</p>

<p>What should they do?? Are there any services they might be able to profit from? What if she has to be sent to an emergency, and the hospital confiscates all their goods?</p>

<p>-Watson&Crick</p>

2

<p>hey,
Your friend should go to the hospital. No amount of money is worth dying for. I was recently in the exact situation, and my family got a lot of help from the government and the hospital. I wish I had done it sooner. I was really sick for the last half of high school, and it sucked.
Good luck to your friend!</p>

3

<p>What I mean is that does the system provides alternative/less expensive medical care for low income people? Because I’ve heard that a few days at the hospital can cost 40-50K.</p>

4

<p>Well the hospital I was at had a service that helped find money for those who couldn’t afford care through medicaid, etc. I assume other hospitals have similar programs. I was there for over a month too + numerous procedures and a surgery, so my bills were pretty high. </p>

<p>Bottom line is your friend probably isn’t getting any better without treatment, and the longer they put it off the worse it will be for her health and it might end up costing more.</p>

5

<p>My school’s hospital will continue to send bills but our policy is to never actually send bill collectors, in any way, shape, or form.</p>

<p>Medicaid has a budget that will compensate us (at least partly) for the losses we incur. We also have social workers who will attempt to find funding sources, such as by enrolling these patients in Medicaid.</p>

6

<p>If they don’t qualify for Medicaid, they might be stuck waiting until it gets serious enough to warrant an ER visit.</p>

7

<p>Yes, but it sounded to me like the family in question was way past that point.</p>

8

<p>Well, I have no idea how serious it is, but she has been out of school for a couple of weeks now.</p>

9

<p>There are also Federally Qualified Health Clinics all over the country, some of which even do specialty care.</p>

<p>My point was that if W&C is worried about hospitalization (“admission”), then she’s way past what it takes to get into an ER.</p>

10

<p>See the medicaid guidelines at [Medicaid</a> Overview](<a href=“http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicaidEligibility/]Medicaid”>http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicaidEligibility/)</p>

<p>Of note, coverage can be retroactive up three months prior to application. It is very common for a medicaid application to be started after hospital admission. If your friend is in doubt, go see the hospital social worker prior to incurring any debt for medical service.</p>

11

<p>What if you are not a US citizen? Are you likely to be admitted for medicaid coverage?</p>

12

<p>Bottom line, if she’s that sick, she needs to go to a hospital. ER or not, first priority has to be getting better. If something goes terribly wrong, it won’t matter at all that she didn’t spend the money at the hospital.</p>