What happens if you can't pay medical bills? (USA)

[RedDeadReflection]

What happens, as a tourist, if you can't pay your medical bills?

I know as a resident depending on the state they can bankrupt you, seize assets, get priority during probate if you die, sometimes your spouse is responsible after that too.

But what happens if you aren't American? Assuming no (or poor) health insurance.

Reading about the woman who went to Florida without health insurance and has now been in hospital for five weeks. Repatriation not yet possible, and even if it was it's £130k. The gofundme has "only" raised £38k. If she recovers well enough to leave the hospital what happens? There must be a fairly robust procedure in place or nobody would get travel insurance if they could just walk out and fly home with no consequences. In this case the woman is a pensioner with few assets so I've no idea what they could do.

My uncle got sick in the US, had to overstay his visa but then was deported whilst recovering from a collapsed lung! Got a lot of angry bills posted to him but he ignored them and nothing happened, except avoiding visiting the US again for 40 years! Not sure what would happen now though.

I visited Belarus (Socialist Republic of). When you arrive at at Minsk airport border control there is a very large sign (about 3 feet high, twenty foot wide).....'no admittance to Belarus without medical insurance'. Not that cheap policy you bought on the internet before you left the UK. Oh no...ONLY the all-singing, all dancing medical insurance the Belarus Government are now about to sell you !

Seems a very good system, I think we should adopt it.

I’m pretty sure repatriation flights have to be paid in advance or at least know payment is guaranteed. For example if flight was pre authorised by insursnce company.

Realistically it wouldn’t make sense to prevent her from leaving. It sounds like her health is pretty poor and is likely not to have the £££s. If you keep her it’s likely at some point she’ll need rehospitslised. Costing even more.

Sunk cost fallacy.

The treatment shouldn't start until funds are available

I did wonder if that's why the repatriation costs had been mentioned on their gofundme. Assume it's payment in advance then without an authorisation from insurance company!

Agree totally in her case, I was also wondering on a more general note as well. If 20 year old Dave racked up a few hundred thousand over there whether they'd block his passport until he'd paid it back too. But a previous poster said something about deportation so guess not!

To paraphrase John Maynard Keynes...'if you owe the hospital a $100 it's your problem, if you owe the hospital $100,000 it's their problem'.

Not when they turf you out before you’re ready because you can’t pay.
Then you’ve got a fairly major problem.

I don't know who John Maynard Keynes is but I appreciate the jist of his message. Would certainly be my problem if they could force a sale of my house 😂

It has always fascinated me that in the USA the average person's wages can't cover such an unexpected issue such as this.
Surely in any sane society an individual or parent, etc, should be able to fund the saving of their own or child's life, or be part of a system that payed in (like nhs, some of europe, etc) to protect such events.

It feels nonsensical and punitive.
I used to go out with a guy from Brooklyn, he was a well paid professional scriptwriter and still owed over 70K on his teeth!

That sounds like a good plan. Should it be the responsibility of the incoming transport method to check?

I’d assume so do you have a valid visa / medical insurance. Perhaps the NHS could sell policies.

You don't know who Keynes is?

No. A quick Google suggests he was an economist who died in the 40s. Not sure why it's hard to believe someone wouldn't know who that is.

Keynesian economics is widely taught in schools. I covered it in modern studies thirty years ago!

No idea what subject modern studies is. Certainly didn't have anything by that name when I was at primary, secondary or sixth form. I've lived in the UK, the US, Germany, France and Malaysia as a child and he doesn't ring a bell at all.

Certainly wasn't in any of my GCSE lessons, I'm 32 so it wasn't that long ago.

Doesn't look like it's taught here unless at university for economics, or similar courses I expect.

I’m 43 and I’ve never heard of him!

Because the monetary/economic systems of so many countries are based on his theories, that's why.

I'm in my mid 40s and have heard of Keynes, but we were not taught about him at school. I studied economics at degree level.

Much of our modern day learning is based on older theories, especially science, but there's only so much room in the curriculum I suppose. Doesn't look like his theory is taught commonly outside of an economics degree.

Tbh, it's everyday language, esp in relation to the ecomony, so yes, it's common outside an economics degree.

Maybe in your circles it's everyday language but I expect you're in a bit of an echo chamber with it. I certainly wouldn't call it common.

Similar age and never heard of him, certainly didn't cover him in school.

Ok, so just because you don't know about something, you think that those who do are in an echo chamber scenario?
That's ridiculous and demonstrates a child's thinking.
Why is an interest in something that affects my daily life an echo chamber rather than ignorance?

Just here for the Keynes comments.

Love a good derail