In my neck of the woods it's less, when you bring cash. I know because last year I brought it for over thirty people who are so poor, they don't even have $5 for a Medicaid copay, never mind $50-100 on hand.
And I pay attention to their treatment, so I know cash is respected and poverty is answered with a referral to a place they can't afford to go, and a doctor who doesn't take medical assistance, and a chilly indifference.
I've been doing this for a few years now, and I've seen how desperately poor people can be and how little benevolent the medical system is toward the poor; as well as how the government personnel treat them. I don't usually bother trying to convince anyone, save for an occasional rhetorical question like "Why don't you put yourself in their shoes one day and see how you're treated?"
I've got innumerable horror stories for examples, won't bore anyone with them. People need to experience these things themselves. Such an experience can change one's life, provided one has a heart to work with.
“. People need to experience these things themselves. Such an experience can change one’s life, provided one has a heart to work with. “
I agree and I don’t want to be hard on the poor. However I was officially below the poverty line for years and had no health insurance for decades so I think I do have some personal understanding.
God bless you for your true charity as you help care for those who need medical care.
Outside of personal responsibility, which even in the best of situations can be limited, I see the responsibility going next to family, then to charities and charitable individuals such as yourself; lastly to the government and only in very unique instances, such as minor children or the truly deranged or terribly crippled whose help from family/charity has proven insufficient.