Socialized health care

Seyorni said:

Americans with health insurance subsidize the millions of Americans and Mexicans that cannot afford health insurance and use emergency rooms as their sole medical providers, knowing that it's difficult to legally deny service to indigents.

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So in effect, those without insurance are already in a socialized health care system, supported by those who have health insurance, to the benefit of the insurance companies?
Faust.

Close, Faust. It's indigents who are already in a de facto socialized system subsidized largely by the paying customers.

I work in a large public hospital, and I'd guess half the people coming through our emergency room are poor and uninsured. We have Mexican nationals coming through regularly, some several times a week for expensive treatments like kidney dialysis. We don't ask their nationality, we just find them a bed and admit them to the hospital as we would any other patient -- knowing full well that they're going to walk out against medical advice, as always, after the treatments are completed. We just bid them goodbye -- "we'll see you in a few days Sr Sanchez!" All a game. The hospital writes it off. The insured and the government pay.