If you are referring to EMTALA, it?s my understanding that hospitals are only required to treat
Emergency situations and must only keep an indigent person until they are stabilized, at which time they can be/are transferred to a county hospital.
http://www.emtala.com/history.htmThe US welfare system is not philanthropic or paternalistic. There are no comparisons to a Social Medical system. One must be absolutely destitute in order to receive any kind of aid at all. It is not true that poor and working class people?s medical needs will be taken care of.
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicaidEligibil ... #TopOfPageMedi
caid is a joint Federal and State program that helps with medical costs for
some people with
low incomes and limited resources. Medicaid programs vary from state to state.
Here?s the run down on services in Texas:
http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/Programs/how_to.htmlComputation of Sample Food Stamp Household
http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/programs/te ... stamp.htmlNet income for family of 4- $677 qualifies for a
maximum of $302 of food stamps per month, provided they don?t have liquid assets that exceed $5000. And you'll play hell getting the max.
Single person, no kids. Must work 20 hrs/week. Max net income $798.
Max food stamps $152. Would very likely be less, and the pittance of help they may receive is almost not worth the unbelievable bs one has to endure when dealing with this bureaucracy.
Medi
CARE is for the retired.
Medi
CAID is for indigent, disabled, and certain other destitute populations.
Who qualifies for Medicaid?
http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/medicaid/cs ... d_FAQ.htmlPoverty Guideline for 1 person- $9,800 per year
Poverty Guideline for 4 persons- $20,000 per year
http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/research/ds ... evels.htmlLook at those numbers closely. Do you notice how utterly preposterous they are? There is no where in Hell, or the US, that a family of 4 can live on $1,600 a month.
It?s not recommended that you pay over ¼ of your income to rent. Know anywhere a family of 4 can live for $400 a month? :rofl: It doesn?t exist. Even if they lucked out, the remaining $1,200 would not cover other basic necessities such as utilities, food, transportation to their $5.25/hr slave jobs, clothes, medical.
Anything under $50,000 should be considered ?Low Income? for a family of 4.
According to the last Census,
http://censtats.census.gov/data/US/01000.pdfthere were 61,226,734 households (
not individuals, but
households) earning under $50K. Roughly 60% of the population. All of the poor, working class, and some who still consider themselves middle class.
As for ?Shrubs? new Medicare Prescription Drug Plan. Dear lord. Just a clever slight of hand to change the rules so that those on Medicare who don?t have exorbitant drug bills pay for those who do. Here?s a story about that. It?s not a hypothetical scenario. This is an elder woman who I help with her dealings with the government. On top of being laborious to deal with it?s virtually impossible for most elders to understand and navigate the convoluted system.
http://www.fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.ph ... vid#137615What is all the terror of a Social Medical System?
We all pay in to Medicaid/Medicare now. And that only insures that we?ll have medical coverage when we retire or become indigent or disabled. Many qualifiers exempt people. When you retire, it?s not like the government (Medicare) is going to pay all your medical expenses. You must purchase one of their insurance plans and then another through a private company- Part B which covers costs above Medicare limits- which are incredibly low. Both currently cost an average of $250/mo. Now, that is a decent Plan B with no deductibles, but, $250 is a little more than ¼ of the average Social Security benefit.
So, what could so terribly wrong about paying a bit more into a social pool and having all medical expenses covered? Call it something else? The ?Healthcare for Everyone Insurance Plan". I can?t fathom how it could be any worse than the HMO bullshit most people deal with. Every year insurance companies look for ways to decrease benefits while raising premiums. You have to see new and inexperienced doctors who will sell their services cheaper, etc. etc. etc. It's pathetic that this nation hasn't figured this out. And they're not going to 'figure it out' because the primary concern is not for "we the people" but for corporate welfare.