I just found this alarming article

[kandrathe]

Not quite true.

"Sooner or later, the bill has to be payed, and if the patient can't pay, the hospital will find someone connected to the patient who can, including family. It's also like that with automobile accidents, lawsuits, etc. - if the person being sued, etc. cannot afford the costs leveled against them, family members will be held responsible to make up the rest. But that's a different issue entirely."

In the US your debts are not transferable to your family(unless you mean your spouse and parents of a minor). Often families do help people cover costs so patients dont lose homes etc.

I think you need find a bit more out about the law.
[right][snapback]66731[/snapback][/right]

I actually have more experience with this than Roland. When I was 18 years old, I was in a catastrophic car crash without any insurance, and my 2 week stay in the hospital and subsequent therapy resulted in over $300K in medical bills. The only way that I was able to get out from under the debt was to file for bankruptcy protection and then using my lawyer, negotiate down my bill to cover only the hospitals costs, and then make payments over the next 10 years. Some people use bankruptcy to discharge all their debts entirely, but I wasn't raised that way.

If the patient does not pay the bill, then depending on the ownership of the hospital, it will be covered by the county welfare taxes, turned over to bill collectors, or eventually written off.