> In many (most?) states, they are actually legally required to offer services to you without a subscription
For emergency services from hospitals that provide emergency services, that's true. But for virtually anything else I don't think it is.
For emergency services from hospitals that provide emergency services, that's true. But for virtually anything else I don't think it is.
You're thinking of a separate law, which requires emergency rooms to provide emergency medical services to all patients if they accept Medicare or are attached to a hospital which accepts Medicare. (This is one of the reasons that there's been a proliferation of standalone for-profit emergency rooms in the last several years - it's a way to bypass this requirement and serve only the most profitable patients).
That's separate from what we're talking about here.
Thanks for this connection. :)
Literally the first paragraph of the Wikipedia page about EMTALA:
> It requires hospital emergency departments that accept payments from Medicare to provide an appropriate medical screening examination (MSE) to anyone seeking treatment for a medical condition, regardless of citizenship, legal status, or ability to pay.