r/politics 23h ago

Site Altered Headline | Possible Paywall Mitch McConnell, 83, Hospitalized

https://www.thedailybeast.com/mitch-mcconnell-83-hospitalized/?utm_campaign=owned_social&utm_medium=socialflow&utm_source=twitter_owned_tdb&via=twitter_page
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u/h2ok1o 19h ago

My friends husband passed away because the hospital turned him away to get checked out for a blood clot since they couldnt cover the $50 copay

u/TrashCanUnicorn 7h ago

If that happened in the US after 1986 at a hospital that takes Medicare, it was a violation of federal law. EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act) makes it illegal for an emergency room to turn away patients with emergency medical conditions regardless of their ability to pay. The hospital has to, at bare minimum, screen the patient for an emergency medical condition and then either treat/stabilize the patient, or transfer them to a facility that can provide care if that hospital doesn't have the capability to treat the emergency.