Quote Originally Posted by Tgo01 View Post
I think it depends largely on the treatment.

In the case of the paralyzed coach I'm sure he's not going to bother paying and will just file for bankruptcy.

The cost of the appendectomy could be as little as 5-10k. The person could choose to setup payment arrangements and pay 150 or so a month until it's paid off.
This is from 2011. So we end up paying for most of them from our taxes and not from our insurance premiums. I wonder where the break even point is that would make sense to just buy everyone insurance.

His research has found that privately insured individuals don't end up paying higher premiums to make up for the uninsured because hospitals that serve lower-income families don't have a lot of patients with insurance. He said the government pays about 75% of those unpaid hospital bills either by direct payment or through a disproportionate payment of Medicaid.
"It affects taxes, not premiums," he said. "The privately insured are still paying for it."