I gotta admit that there are lots of things that I still dont understand about healthcare in the U.S, so maybe you can clear it up for me.

What exactly is the purpose of public hospitals in the U.S, when all people with a private health insurance get their treatment/operations on private hospitals anyway? I mean if people without a health insurance cannot get their treatment/operation paid for by the government like we can, then what is the reason for having public hospitals at all?

Are emergency hospitals always free of charge, and are they always public financed?

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A "public" hospital is a hospital that receives public funds for any purpose. The VAST majority of hospitals are "public" hospitals.

And yes, a public hospital will charge your private health insurance.

Matt

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So what is the vast majority, like 90%? I would have thought that it was the other way around.

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Hey, those illegal aliens need to be able to go somewhere...

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Matt is using a pretty wide reaching definition of "Public" Hospital. Many US hospitals are "For Profit" hospitals. Almost all receive some sort of government funding through Medicare or Medicaid billing, so they are technically "public" hospitals meaning they are required to treat people in emergency situations regardless of their ability to pay. The for profit hospitals can and do refuse treatment to the uninsured in non-emergency situations. A true "public" hospital will treat anyone and bill them based on their ability to pay. These hospitals are becoming less common as government funding at the federal and state level has been shrinking. The poor and the elderly are taken care of through Medicare and Medicaid, it is often the working poor or lower middle class who cannot afford insurance but make to much to qualify for Medicaid who fall through the cracks.

Number of Public Hospitals Declining, Study Says, USA

Emergency room visits are never free of charge. If you have insurance, they pay a portion and you pay a portion. If you are poor or elderly, Medicare or Medicaid pay. If you are uninsured, you still get billed. If you cannot pay, you get turned over to a collection agency which damages your credit.

BTW, even those who are insured usually have to pay a deductible, a co-pay, and/or a percentage of charges. With my insurance, after my $500 annual deductible, 80% of charges are covered. (100% for emergencies). So I'm still on the hook for 20% of my medical bills in addition to my premiums.

AHA : Resource center : Fast Facts on US Hospitals

Good explanation, thanks.

Do people who receive disability pension automatically qualify for medicaid or medicare? Do people who qualify for one of these two then get all non-cosmetical operations/treatments 100% free of charge, or do they still have to pay something themselves?

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It all comes down to this on election day: Are you a racist, or do you look down on spastics?