It may be true that hospitals provide emergency care without first
asking for insurance. However, they will ask for it afterwards. How else
do you explain the fact that medical bills are a leading cause of
bankruptcies in this country?



"Jay Honeck" wrote in
news:34A7e.14321$xL4.3090@attbi_s72:

But I like to be brought to the ER after an accident ASAP and beeing
searched
for an insurance card _after_ the emergency treatment.

Martin, I don't know what kind of propaganda they've been feeding you
in Austria, but in America no one cares about who's paying for the
bills here until after the emergency medical services are rendered.

And, in fact, we *do* have nationalized health care in this country
for the indigent. Those who deny this fact clearly have no concept of
how our medical system works. (Mary's "other" job is doing
statistical computer analysis for a major health care provider, and
she spent 20 years as a Medical Technologist "in the trenches" drawing
blood, etc. She analyzes budgets, and gets to see, first hand, how
Medicare and other government programs pay 100% of health care costs
for anyone who walks in the door without insurance..)

Could the system be set up in a more efficient way? Hell, yes. But
it *is* functioning, and our health care *is* quite excellent.