No, it is a simple fact. If you are on Medicaid you pay nothing to visit a doctor (or in some cases, pay a copay) and you pay nothing at all to go the ER. Rather than be put off for a week when you try to schedule an appointment with the limited number of providers, you go the ER and get same-day treatment. You don't give a shit. You're not paying for it. You want a lie......that's one. Medicaid does, in fact, pay for ER bills.....
Recall that when a low-income person who doesn't have insurance goes to the emergency room, they're going to be presented with a huge bill. This bill will be far, far in excess of what the hospital negotiates with insurance companies or programs like Medicaid for the same services, which is why people end up getting charged thousands of dollars for getting a couple of stitches. They'll probably be unable to pay, though the hospital and its debt collectors will hound them, making them miserable. Eventually, the cost will be picked up through a combination of state and local programs that repay the hospital for uncompensated care, with some costs being passed along to everybody else via higher prices. In contrast, when a person with Medicaid goes to the ER, they get care, and Medicaid pays the bill. It's a lot simpler. prospect.org |
