ER’s are forbidden by Federal EMTALA statutes from demanding payment before treatment. They are required to see and evaluate every patient without regard to their ability to pay. They must follow this law if they participate in any Federal payment program, such as Medicare, Medicaid, FEHBP, Tricare, or SCHIP.
I was talking about AFTER treatment. Offer of payment was REFUSED. I fought with the damned hospital for 5 years all because they refused to take any money from me the night I went in there.
7 years later, they were real quick billing me for the delivery of my daughter claiming my insurance refused to pay. The hospital bill showed a denial from the insurance company 7 days BEFORE the insurance company had even received the billing. When I called the insurance company to ask what was up I was informed it had already been approved for payment.