Teenage boy turned away from urgent care for not having insurance died

If this is true, and it appears to be according to the article and the YT of the Mayor talking about it, I feel like this teenagers death is on their hands.

There is no excuse to turn someone away in the time of need such as now.
Insurance or not.

R Rex Parris, the mayor of Lancaster, California, confirmed the teen’s death in a video posted to YouTube on Wednesday, in which he warned residents to take the global pandemic seriously and practice self-isolation and social distancing measures.

The Friday before he died, he was healthy,” the mayor said about the teenager. “By Wednesday, he was dead.”


The mayor said the teen “didn’t have insurance, so they did not treat him” when he arrived at an urgent care facility in the area. The medical staff then told the child to go to a local public hospital.

“En route to AV Hospital, he went into cardiac arrest,” the mayor said. “They were able to revive him and keep him alive for about six hours. But by the time he got there, it was too late.”

SOURCE



In the video, the Mayor talks about the kid's death, among other things and he is very nonchalant about the whole thing.
One cool dude.






My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

a reply to: snarky412
perhaps this crisis will persuade Americans to accept "socialised medicine".

No one should ever die from lack of insurance in a first world country. South American countries have a higher rated health care system than America does.

That being said, from the complications this kid had I doubt an urgent care clinic would have been able to save his life. Then again, I guess we’ll never know.

originally posted by: underwerks
No one should ever die from lack of insurance in a first world country.

I know someone in a 'third world' country who was recently in an accident at night and received care and treatment at a hospital right away. In a small town, lacking many necessities.

The American healthcare system is appalling. If a country that lacks running palatable water can provide decent healthcare, America has no excuse.

a reply to: underwerks

Then again, I guess we’ll never know.

No, we won't.

Nor will his family.

As a Canadian I have always wanted to extend the olive branch of free health care to the United States.
America doesn't like dictators, but if I were a dictator I would take over the USA and guarantee free universal health care for everyone. I have considered starting with Alaska via referendum. A lawsuit by the family will surely be an easy victory, but cannot bring back the loss of life. I am saddened by this news. I thought the system was better than that now.

a reply to: snarky412

Very sad.

Why was he going to urgent care for a potentially life-threatening illness? Why wasn't he in an ambulance?

There are far more questions here than there are answers. If this was corona I very much doubt an urgent care would have let him in the building even if he had platinum level insurance. They aren't equipped to deal with it. What happened between the Friday referenced as him being healthy and Wednesday?

Sounds like this death is being used to push some agenda. There's something missing here because this kind of information isn't public or available to a Mayor. Something else is going on in this story.

a reply to: snarky412

Yet there is all kinds of proof of illegals getting medical care and never paying the bills.
How can it be both ways?

a reply to: snarky412

If this is true, and it appears to be according to the article and the YT of the Mayor talking about it, I feel like this teenagers death is on their hands.

If true his death is because of the system that allowed it to happen.

Wait , and this is by all means not political.
But wasn't the ACA supposed to allow admission into the hospital for those uninsured , and the government would subsidize it ?

Any urgent care in the country will take a cash payment, not sure I am buying the entire story that they turned him away without insurance.
What’s the real story?

a reply to: gortex

It is against the law to deny emergency care in the US for lack of insurance.

a reply to: Deny Arrogance

Hospitals, yeah. Urgent care for cash healthcare, not so much.

Fake news headline. Covid19 was ruled out as clearly stated in the sensationalist article.

However, Los Angeles’ County Department of Public Health later said the teen’s death was taken off a list of deaths associated with Covid-19 in the area. The department said the CDC would complete an investigation into the teen’s death. It remained unclear what symptoms he may have been experiencing prior to his death.

a reply to: RazorV66

Urgent Care clinics are not the same thing as hospital emergency rooms. They are usually privately owned small businesses and franchises, who hold contracts with certain insurqance carriers. In California these clinics are not required by law to take emergency victims that can't pay, or don't have insurance.

That said, they could have worked out billing arrangements. In California, hospitals are suing patients in default like crazy.

a reply to: Sookiechacha

It sounds like the clinic had no responsibility to treat the kid.
Legally anyway.

Guess he should have went to a hospital

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: snarky412

If this is true, and it appears to be according to the article and the YT of the Mayor talking about it, I feel like this teenagers death is on their hands.

If true his death is because of the system that allowed it to happen.

Got no argument from me.

My sister is a PRN in Mobile, and she said that our healthcare system has been broken for decades. That what is happening now is an issue due to politicians over the course of time, just putting a band-aid on it so to speak, in a poor attempt to fix it.


But still, we have known many people uninsured go to the ER for one reason or another. Never have they been turned away.

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA)[1] is an act of the United States Congress, passed in 1986 as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). It requires hospital Emergency Departments that accept payments from Medicare to provide an appropriate medical screening examination (MSE) to anyone seeking treatment for a medical condition, regardless of citizenship, legal status, or ability to pay. Participating hospitals may not transfer or discharge patients needing emergency treatment except with the informed consent or stabilization of the patient or when their condition requires transfer to a hospital better equipped to administer the treatment.[1]

originally posted by: Gothmog
Wait , and this is by all means not political.
But wasn't the ACA supposed to allow admission into the hospital for those uninsured , and the government would subsidize it ?

I thought so.


Plus they will be getting government monies for this pandemic to help with their needs.

2 different things, I know, but still.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: Sookiechacha

It sounds like the clinic had no responsibility to treat the kid.
Legally anyway.

Guess he should have went to a hospital

I would not be surprised to see one heck of a wrongful death lawsuit on the near horizon, though. After all, this did happen in litigious California! I bet that family has been approached by a dozen lawyers just today, chompin' at the bit!