Can a hospital refuse to give treatment to a cancer patient if they do not have any insurance?

Question

My best friend has breast cancer but she does not have any medical insurance. She went to her local family independence agency and applied for it and the agency said that her case is now pending, but my friend needs hospital treatment right now and the hospital said they will not perform any treatment on her until her medical insurance comes through. My friend is now worried that while the hospital has her waiting for insurance that her cancer get be getting worser. I would like to know can the hospital be held liable if cancer gets worse while she is waiting?

Answer 1

I think hospitals are required not to refuse treatment of emergencies only, and that they can refuse to treat an uninsured cancer victim because it's not "emergency". It's not right, and that's why we need to vote for Hillary, she will make sure people like your friend are not refused treatment just because she doesn't have insurance.

Answer 2

The US hospitals will not only let you die; they'll bill you an outrageous fee of $200k , treat you like a bum if you can't pay it, take your home if they can get it, and then get that self-serving pitiful look on their face and talk about how charitable they are - and how tapped out they are... In the USA your insurance works until you get sick, you lose your job, and your COBRA runs out... Sorta like having a roof that only works when it's not raining. You are much better off in Europe or Canada - and other countries - if you are terminally ill or otherwise suffer from a condition that causes you to be disabled. The US Healthcare System is BARBARIC in the way it treats cancer patients who cannot afford treatment. In the USA , Healthcare is not considered to be a basic Human Right. You could have worked 30 years - sometimes working 2 jobs - but the moment that health insurance runs out - the wolf is at your door. You could be a bum who has contributed nothing to this world and hardly ever worked - but if you are from a wealthy household who can keep you insured - you've got healthcare! The US system is not based on health inasmuch CLASS and your EMPLOYER. A lot of naive people who have not had to face a major illness believe that you can just 'get disability'. In the USA when you become seriously ill so that you can no longer work - you get a disability incomebut you LOSE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE. Until 2008 in the USA you couldn't even get disability income if you were struck down by a terminal disease ie. you could get a major terminal cancer - and then be told that you could apply for disability - and that in 2 years you would be approved! Yet, the people applying had a prognosis of maybe a year to even just be alive. The US govt. made these people suffer! It took reform that Republicans resisted tooth and nail - just to get dying people a roof over their head while they died until 2008 when the law was finally changed. The idea that disability and healthcare insurance treatment should be separate disconnected entities - is crazy. When a person is medically disabled that's when they most need medical care! When I talk to my friends overseas in the UK and Germany, they are astonished at how wasteful and just plain crazy the US Healthcare system has become. There are 'U.S. professionals' who will tell you how the system is tapped out and how they try to be nice, but the reality is they just don't like to admit the mundane obvious truth; it makes'em look bad - and god forbid that should happen in the midst of a real health crisis. The healthcare systems of Europe and Canada are profoundly superior to the USA in managing the care of peope who suffer from cancer. Every day and night in America there's a Cancer Tx Ctr that plays commercials on US television over and over offering COMPASSIONATE CARE and HOPE to advanced cancer patients - and what is so sad - is that it's a cancer mill that has been repeatedly sued as a a known scam. It's a blood sucking insurance $$$$$$ cancer mill that flies people cross country , robs'em and sends'em back home to die at the local hospital that does the almost the exact same millish thing. That's how bad it is, and it is unique to the USA and a USA phenomenon. The US Healthcare system has become that dehumanizing and profit driven.

Answer 3

No, a hospital is not required to treat a chronic disease. Only emergencies - and just long enough to get the person stable.

Once a doctor begins treatment, by law they can't stop the treatment (even if your money runs out). So you see why they want to be sure there is insurance or some means of repayment (cancer treatments are extremely expensive on average $1,500 per treatment and the treatments can go for months).

America does not have a nationalized medical system, thus you now understand the argument for developing some sort of national health insurance program.

Hope your friend is successful in obtaining the resources to receive treatment.

Answer 4

Lisa, please know that she can go to a county hospital and they will see her, give her treatment and they have some of the best doctors, in the field!

I think the sueing of Medical Instituations, from the uninsured, depends upon your States laws. I would look into this but, right now, she has GOT TO get treatment, immediately! Cancer, of the breast, can be super aggressive. I am not saying hers is but, why risk this? Then, because the glands are so close to our breasts....it can spread into the armpits where the glands are located.

There is just NO reason for her NOT to be getting treatment! I cannot help you that much, in regard to getting her help from doctors. I will say, I want you to know that I am going to be praying that God will guide you both. I ask God to go before you and make a way ...where there seems to be none! May God walk with her, place His peace upon her and allow her to feel His love for her!

God bless you, dear one....you are a true friend! If you live near Texas, MD Anderson, in Houston, will take her and they are world reknown for their cancer treatments! May God's will be done in this matter!

Gail
E-mail if you would like to talk.

Answer 5

Unfortunately, laws only require hospitals to provide emergency care sufficient to get someone stable. However, different hospitals operate under charters - some hospitals are run for profit, some are private non-profit, and some are funded by tax dollars; and each hospital operates under some type of charter. Some hospitals have sliding payment scales for uninsured patients, some offer payments plans, and very, very few offer free care for patients that meet certain requirements.

You might be able to help out you friend by contacting the American Cancer Society and asking them if they can give you the names of hospitals that have discounts or payment plans for cancer patients.

Answer 6

Public hospitals in major cities will provide cancer care (including chemotherapy, surgery, etc.) for people without insurance. Illegal immigrants can face greater barriers to receiving care, but it sounds like that's not the situation, so she should look into the public hospital system in her city.

Answer 7

Welcome to America...how f'd up is it that someone with cancer has to WAIT for an INSURANCE application to go through to get treatment? I'm really sorry for you guys, best of luck to you. Hospital is NOT liable unfortunately.

Answer 8

That is horrible, contact the local news channel and I am sure things will move faster.

Have your friend contact the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Center and they can help her, they have financial and medical resources.

Answer 9

in shreveport louisiana we have the LSU hospital where people without money or insurance will be treated free of charge.