[Noah930]

I would imagine it would depend on the acuity of the cardiac problem. If the patient is critically-ill, then all of that would happen during that one visit to the ER (which would wind up as an admission to the hospital, with attendant cardiac cath/angioplasty/bypass). If the patient has no insurance (often listed as "self-pay" in the computer billing info), the providers can bill the patient full well knowing it'll be likely they won't get paid. Hospital/doc just eats it.

If an uninsured patient goes to the ER with a problem, but they're stable enough for discharge from the ER/hospital, then they're a little bit SOL financially. They can try to negotiate with the hospital/doctors for pricing. Some hospitals will have some sort of free-care/indigent care programs in place, so you can get care at that hospital and not have to pay (or pay some significantly reduced amount). Or, they can try to get care from a public hospital. Granted I've lived almost all my life in metropolitan areas (so I don't know how it is if you live in BFE), but there's always a public hospital to provide free care for the non-insured. Often it'll be tied into a teaching/university type scenario, so there will be medical students and residents, but they will all be overseen by attending staff. Arguably, that care may be better than what you get at community hospitals.