[DoughtyOne]

It may interest you to know that your state still pays for indigent people who show up at your emergency rooms. It is a federal requirement. If your hospitals refused such service, they would be forbidden to handle Medicare patients. And that's the fastest way I know of to shut the doors of your own facility.

Call it Medi-Cal, call it state fund #702, call it anything you like, my state, your state and every other state pays for these people. If your state is still a part of the union, then it pays for this stuff. And yes, it gets partially reimbursed by the federal government just like every other state. If you wish to fixate on Medi-Cal, jump up and down, slander us for ever adopting such a stupid plan, and assure yourself that your state doesn't have to pay these same types of fees, go ahead. It won't be true, you'll be in denial, but you have every right to think whatever you want.

[babygene]

"Call it Medi-Cal, call it state fund #702, call it anything you like, my state, your state and every other state pays for these people. "

The difference is, as I understand it, Med-Cal covers elective procedures where other states cover emergencies...