Medical Care for the Indigent in USA

I have always wondered about this and have had some lengthy discussions in
the past with people in the county social services dept regarding such
topics as Medicaid and Welfare (I live in Maryland, USA). It is nasty stuff
and if you make any kind of income at all, you are basically not eligible.

But barring that, I would like to propose a hypothetical question about
caring for the indigent (which includes the whole gamut of people from the
poor who may have a modest home or apartment, or live with a relative or
friend, etc, - down to the homeless person who sleeps on a manhole cover.
And say none of them have health insurance, or Medicaid or Welfare (I
believe in most states if you are eligible for Welfare, you automatically
get Medicaid).

I would like to exaggerate a point to make a point. Lets take a very well
to do person like the former actor Chris Reeves, who had a terrible horse
accident and became a quadriplegic. Chris went through hell for several
years before he finally succumbed, and he had the very best medical care
available, and I am sure the medical bills (including therapy) were in the
millions.

Now lets take the homeless person on the street, who for whatever strange
reason suddenly becomes a quadriplegic. What will happen to him and how
will the "authorities to be" treat him. Even if he immediately becomes
eligible for Medicaid, he will obviously not get the elite medical attention
that Chris Reeves got (and could afford to pay for with or without
insurance). So what will the state or county do with him, and to what
extent will they try to keep him alive, and for how long. I don't think it
is practical to assume the authorities can just let him up and die, but I am
not totally sure about that. I hope you all get the just of my post. In a
nutshell what will they do with him and what level of care will he get,
versus the elite care that Chris Reeves got (and was able to pay for).

Pete


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Relevant Pages

  • Medical Care for the Indigent In USA
    ... the past with people in the county social services dept regarding such ... And say none of them have health insurance, or Medicaid or Welfare (I ... to do person like the former actor Chris Reeves, ... and he had the very best medical care ...
    (sci.med)
  • NO ROOM AT THE INN FOR THOSE ON MEDICAID
    ... some assisted living center in Washington state. ... nine residents there. ... You know I don't much care who is at fault, the state, the feds, the ... to shift to medicaid coverage, the place let us know there wouldn't be ...
    (soc.senior.issues)
  • Re: NO ROOM AT THE INN FOR THOSE ON MEDICAID
    ... some assisted living center in Washington state. ... nine residents there. ... You know I don't much care who is at fault, the state, the feds, the ... to shift to medicaid coverage, the place let us know there wouldn't be ...
    (soc.senior.issues)
  • Re: Dont know what Im going to do.
    ... health insurance, but was able to get MaineCare ... think it's automatic to get health care when you're on food stamps, ... welfare office, apply for food stamps, and see if you can get Medicaid ... pain as best as possible. ...
    (alt.support.chronic-pain)
  • Re: Down Again
    ... Many many years ago, in my yoot, I worked for a peer review ... organization which did quality of care and cost analysis for Medicaid ... quality of care programmer writing all of the reports and indexed file ...
    (comp.os.vms)