Can You Sue a Private Doctor for Not Treating You?

  • 4 years   ago
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost 137 million Americans visit the ER wing of hospitals across the nation every year. Many of them go there with an emergency and often demand that the doctor treat them for their conditions.
 
The country’s federal law mandates Medicare-compliant healthcare establishments to treat everyone with an emergency condition, regardless of their financial situation or the availability of health insurance.

This often poses a bit of an issue to many doctors, particularly those running private hospitals. This is because about 15 percent of all Americans lack proper healthcare coverage. Not just that, about 25 percent of all low income earners lack health insurance.

This condition always puts the hospital management in a quandary because the hospital often depends on these remittances to keep their doors open and continue to provide medical care to patients.

So, if you have been denied medical care, suffered an injury or harm because of it, and are wondering you can file a malpractice lawsuit, this article should clarify things for you.

 
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The Facts of Private Hospitals

It is important to note that private clinics and practices are not obligated to follow federal law. As a result, they can either deny you treatment or stop treating you if they so choose without being worried about any malpractice suit.

The only grounds in which they cannot refuse to treat you is discrimination. The law requires that all hospitals treat everyone equally. So, it doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, latino, Hispanic, LGBTQ+, catholic, muslim… whatever. A hospital cannot deny you treatment on the basis of your religion, race, age, sexual orientation, nationality or sex.

These are the grounds on which no hospital can refuse you treatment or stop treating you. Apart from these conditions, doctors can refuse to treat you for the following reasons:

Practice Has Enough Patients

While private hospitals are basically run as small businesses, their primary goal isn’t profit making. Although, that’s important too. The primary goal for all private doctors is the quality of care.

This means that even if new patients are coming into the practice, they may reject you as a patient or refer you to another facility if they already have enough patients.

The average private hospital has a number of limited beds, an optimal ration of doctor to patient number, and a limited number of assisting personnel like nurses and so on. If they feel that they can’t take on any more patients without it negatively impacting their quality of care, they will deny you treatment.

So, before you hurry out to hire a Medical Malpractice Attorney Manhattan NYC, better make sure you have solid grounds for your case. If you’re in a hospital, you want to make sure that there’s an optimal number of healthcare professionals attending to you. This is how you minimize medical errors and improve patient’s healing chances.

 
They Only Acknowledge Patients from Certain Health Insurance Companies

While making you better is a priority, doctors are also practical about keeping their doors open for patients who need help.

This is why they may deny you treatment if your health insurance is from a provider that’s not on their acceptance list. All hospitals try to work with as many health insurance providers as possible. It’s how they get their payments after treating you and sending you home.

But, if your provider isn’t on their list of approved vendors, they might actually deny you treatment, unless you can pay out of pocket, or use another person’s coverage from vendors they recognize.

Your Chances of Payment are Slim

Here’s the thing, situations like this are very tricky. Some private hospitals might refuse you treatment on the grounds that you cannot afford the treatment.

However, some clinics might have donations from foundations and individuals set aside for “pro bono” cases or special situations like yours. Most of the time, the recipient of these finds and treatments are decided by the hospital management who award these at their discretion.

Clinics without these options though, tend to deny treatment because they really can’t afford to bear the burden of that treatment’s cost. It’s not fair, but it is what it is.

This also applies in cases where you haven’t paid your bills. Hospitals can withdraw their care and services from you if your bills haven’t been paid.

Most healthcare providers are reasonable. If you’ve been making your payments and fell on a bit of a rough patch, they may be able to continue treating you until you can pay back.

Situations like this are usually decided by the hospital on a case by case basis. Please note, however, that if you have a medical emergency, the doctor will continue to treat until stable or another provider comes in and takes your case off their hands.

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