It time to put an end to the GOP talking point repeated here on DU again and again.

[girl gone mad]

203. "And, if you have no insurance your treatment costs are passed on to everyone else."

First of all, even if it were true (I'll get to why your statement contains more truthiness than truth) what would be wrong with that? Isn't that exactly what we should want: socialized medical care?

Now for why it's not really true. If I'm uninsured and get hit by a car or have a heart attack on the street, sure, I'll get some basic level of care at the hospital. Then I'll get a big fat bill. Since I have income and assets, the hospital will come after me to collect. I could probably negotiate some sort of payment plan (still much higher than what the insurers would pay for the same services), which is what ultimately happens in many of these cases. If I ended up in bankruptcy, the hospital would probably pass the bill along to the government, as you point out. The government spends tens of billions paying for uncompensated medical costs each year. Right now it adds to our deficit - which is a pretty good thing to do during recessionary periods such as the one we're currently in.

But, wait, that's not all. Most people who go through medical bankruptcies have insurance. Will you guys that continually push this talking point about the costs of the uninsured being passed on to everyone else ever address this fact? The ACA will not put a stop to medical bankruptcies. There's actually no guarantee it won't make the problem worse, since the insured seek out more medical care, get more unnecessary procedures, and don't always have better outcomes, despite the higher costs.