Getting Stuck: Uninsured Patients Slammed with Lawsuits by Not-for-Profit Hospital

[TexasTowelie]

Memorial Hermann treats patients without insurance, tells them not to worry about the cost and then sues them for thousands of dollars.



Car horns blared and the 5 o'clock traffic stacked up behind him as Ignacio Alaniz rolled back under his car to try to start the engine again. As he lay there, touching the wire to divert the starter on the ancient white Buick Century, he heard a click as the car jolted alive and popped into gear. Seconds before it happened, flat on his back on the cool pavement that January night in 2012, belly pressed against the metal works, Alaniz realized he was about to be run over by his own car.

More than 3,000 pounds of metal smashed across his chest. He heard the snap of his ribs, the sharp crack of bone as the front wheel and then the back slammed into his torso. The car sped blindly forward, popped over a curb and sailed into a ditch. People watched as Alaniz, bloody and twisted, pulled himself up off the pavement. He tried to walk, moving with lurching steps, but his insides were screaming.

"Don't move," he heard a woman say as she pulled out her cell phone to call 911. Once she knew the ambulance was on its way, she let Alaniz use her phone to call his girlfriend, Theresa Malone.

Seeing a number she didn't recognize, Malone would normally have ignored the call, but she answered.

More at http://www.houstonpress.com/2013-07-25/news/memorial-hermann/ .

[kentauros]

1. I've been reading this story off and on today.

It's pretty disgusting, and a fine reason why healthcare should be a basic right. I suspect people in other countries, where getting healthcare for free is a right, look at us pretty much the same way we look at Republicans: with complete and utter bewilderment.

[MrNJ]

2. What about car insurance?

This seems to be a car accident, shouldn't car insurance "PIP" coverage pay for the injuries?

[TexasTowelie]

3. PIP coverage is not required in Texas and costs an additional premium.

PIP is also "first-party" coverage (in essence, a contract between the first party and their insurer).

The car was an "ancient Buick Century" which probably means that the owner has liability insurance (an assumption since 1 out of 4 Texas drivers doesn't have insurance).