Hospital No Insurance
Can a hospital refuse treatment without insurance? Legally, a hospital is required to care for people with medical emergencies. However, that is not always what happens. Sometimes an ambulance who calls into a hospital with a patient needing serious care will be asked to reroute them to another hospital. Sometimes it can be that the emergency room is simply overwhelmed, but other times a person may be asked to move based on where they are coming from such as a under privileged neighborhood where medical insurance is rare.
If you are seen by the hospital and get a hospital bill with no insurance, you can sometimes make arrangements with the hospital to get this bill reduced or eliminated. This usually needs to be done within 30 days whether you are feeling well or not. Otherwise you owe the entire bill and it will go on your credit report if you don't pay it.
There are some hospitals that you do not need insurance to get care. These are teaching hospitals usually at universities. You are seen by student doctors under the supervision of licensed medical doctors. Be prepared for very long waits for service though. There are also free clinics that are operated by local government or charitable organizations that require little or no payment. Check them out if you need care.
Going to the hospital without health insurance is certainly not ideal. Even being under insured may mean you have to pay for treatments up front, whether you can afford them or not. So take some time to see if you can get insurance or upgrade the insurance you have.