If you have unpaid medical bills, what happens if you never pay them and can doctors refuse to treat you?

Question

I have some medical bills and i dont have any money to pay them right now...if in the future i need surgery or something...can they turn me down?

Answer 1

Look up EMTALA on line. Dr.s may, can, and should refuse to treat you for a non emergent medical condition if you are likely not to pay. They are in business to make money, just like any other business. There are options for those without medical insurance coverage. Contact the department of human services in your area.

For emergent medical or surgical needs, you would need to go to a hospital, not a Dr's office. The hospital is required (EMTALA) to treat life threatening situations or refer you elsewhere for treatment.

Although I would not want to see someone die or suffer problems from not being treated, I am very cognizant of the financial issues faced by hospitals with non paying patients. I live in a border town that also has more than its fair share of White Trash who do not work, bother to get any kind of medical assistance, and certainly do not live a healthy lifestyle. It is a nightmare for hospitals. Not only are there financial problems for the hospital, but the E/Rs are filled with illegal immigrants and others who have various health issues and no way to take care of themselves. There are MANY who really need assistance and can get it, but unfortunately, there are even more who simply do not take responsibility for themselves.

(stepping off my soap box)

For you....don't worry about emergent health care needs....those will be provided to you if you need it to save your life.

As far as the unpaid medical bills you already have, just call the Dr's office and make some sort of arrangement, as small as it may be. If the bills are just too large and you will never be able to pay them, contact consumer credit counselling for advice. They can help. You may need bankruptcy, but they can give you great advice.

Good luck and don't worry.

Answer 2

I am a nurse and I too like to get paid for my services.

Pay anything to show your appreciation. And if it is only $ 1.00 a week.

Acknowledge that we have real value. Try to live without us.

Ingrid

Answer 3

they go on your credit report. a specific doctor (like one you have a bill with) can dismiss you from their office...but a hospital has to treat you regardless of your ability to pay.

Answer 4

You can't be denied medical care for an emergency, but a doctor could refuse to treat you for anything else unless you pay cash up front. Can you blame him? And if you don't pay your doctor's bill, what happens? THE REST OF US PAY FOR YOU! That's part of the reason that hospital bills are so *@%*@! high, a large number of people never pay their bill, so they just mark up everyone else's to compensate.

Besides, if you don't pay your bills (medical or otherwise) you're going to ruin your credit which means you won't be able to get an auto loan, buy a house, get a credit card, etc., etc.

Answer 5

If you mean can an individual doctor refuse to treat you if you don't pay your medical bills, the answer is yes.

You may still be able to receive emergency medical treatment through a county facility.

Answer 6

It's an interesting point. No doctor has an obligation to treat you. Forcing people to work without pay became unpopular in the US about the time of the Civil War. Hospitals participating in the Medicare and/or Medicaid programs (and that's nearly all of them) do have an unfunded mandate to give a screening examination and stabilizing treatment to anybody with a possible emergency, but it goes no farther than that. Each hospital is on its own in deciding how it's to offer those services, and how it's to get its medical staff to go along, since the hospital obviously needs the doctor to do the actual work of the exam and stabilizing treatment.