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In the United States, hospitals are required to provide care for emergency services even if you don't have insurance. The unpaid fees are covered by county and state agencies. Hospitals actually prefer these types of billings that get paid by government agencies, because they don't scrutinize the invoices like insurance companies do.
There is also Medicaid and Medicare if you don't have income to afford healthcare services, which is used quite a bit by the elderly.
In the Nikki case, the company and its principals would be fully liable unless she signed a waiver.
Hospitals usually only collect a small amount of the invoices they bill anyway. This is why everything in hospitals are marked up zillions of profit margin percent. Its not so much they are gouging, but its the only way they can operate profitably because of all the non-pays and non-collectibles.
Hospitals also pay their bills notoriously slow. I'm a shareholder in a healthcare biz and it usually takes 6 months to get paid when hospitals are billed for staffing services provided. So they are just as bad as the patients.
Its terribly sad to see anyone hurt. I've helped a few people on GFY that I know. But, I'll admit, I don't feel comfortable when someone, like CD and Sleazy said, who isn't even a regular on GFY comes in all of a sudden asking for donations.
You can get limited health care insurance for major events like Nikki had for hardly any cost at all, so I have to wonder why someone wouldn't even have limited coverage of some kind who certainly has enough income to afford it.
The reason the Nikki post drew so much heat was the fact Adam should have just posted the accident and not even mentioned asking for money. He would have had a much better response just letting people ask if they could donate vs. asking everyone to donate.
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