“Since 1983, New York State has set aside a pool of money to underwrite a portion of the uncompensated care costs incurred by hospitals. Initially termed the Hospital Bad Debt and Charity Care (BDCC) Pool and more recently the Hospital Indigent Care Pool (the Pool), this Pool currently distributes $847 million in Medicaid funds to public and voluntary hospitals through multiple sub-Pools and multiple allocation formulas.”
Most of the people who couldn’t pay were probably already on forms of welfare, so this is simply part of it; that wouldn’t change.
Many of the non-welfare people who don’t have health insurance are self-employed and can’t qualify for it for one reason or another (either a pre-existing condition or because they are forced to buy low-deductible coverage they can’t afford), but do pay for it, over time if necessary.
I’m sure you’re also aware that the uninsured are charged a higher rate than that charged to insurance companies.
Indigent care is another story entirely. That’s covered under Medicaid and is a different discussion. We can argue about that all day long, but that’s a case where people don’t even have the income to make a payment plan and can prove it to the gov’t, so the taxpayers pay.
This guy is trying to drag out the Romney canard that everyone who is uninsured somehow hurts the collective and should therefore be forced to buy insurance. People who qualify for Medicaid are insured by Medicaid. Even if they’re not yet enrolled, they can and will be when they fill out the forms.
In a FREE country people aren’t forced to buy insurance.