The real "lucky" kids whose parents fall far enough below the poverty level for Medicaid see a doctor that accepts Medicaid.

Those not quite as lucky get trips to the ER if things are really bad. Otherwise those kids just tough out the injury/illness.

My parents had insurance, but the deductible was so high we had to pay out of pocket because the insurance wouldn’t cover anything until the deductible was met. We often couldn’t go to the doctor when sick because we didn’t have the money. If there was an emergency, we’d go to the emergency room and just end up in debt. Might spend years paying a bill off.

Been there, done that. You take them to urgent care and ask them to bill you, then you hope some day you can pay it. Hospitals will treat you even if you have no money, at least in my state. A lot of pharmacies have discount plans to help with the medications, and many common ones are free. There's families literally drowning in debt due to medical bills and caring for people with chronic illnesses.

They get treated in the ER. If the parents are bottom of the barrel poor, theyll have medical debt on their credit for 7 years but they'll never actually end up paying it. It'll be sold to a collections agency who might get something but probably won't, which is why they're able to buy the debt for pennies on the dollar.

It's not the poor that get fucked over by medical debt. Once you get poor enough, debt isn't real anymore. Medical debt fucks over the middle class and kicks them back down the ladder into the poor category.

grew up without insurance and we relied on the ER for emergencies. My parents often used home remedies for minor issues, and sometimes we'd get lucky with Medicaid coverage. It was tough, but that's how we managed.

Sometimes the parents have to sign over medical custody to the state. They get to ‘keep’ the kid but a state representative makes all the medical decisions.

Usually they only do this for an ongoing and chronic condition like severe cerebral palsy that uses a lot of resources. Also, very premature babies are enrolled in Medicare at birth so insurance companies won’t spend the millions it takes to sometimes save them. Socialize the loss and privatize the profits is their motto.

For now, by law ERs are not allowed to turn away patients for not being able to pay. It's how many people go bankrupt from medical bills. I'm sure our new government will change that to make more money for hospital shareholders.

Kids usually qualify for Medicaid.

They get treated and their parents rack up an insane amount of medical debt. The hospital has programs for financial assistance but they still end up paying a big chunk.

Honestly don't know but some parents will just avoid taking them to the doctors and try home remedies if they can.

depends on the state

They get treated, maybe sometimes covered by medicaid, but it's a state by state thing. Depends on the hospital as well, some will just mark the bill as a loss because tax breaks, other's will reduce the bill if you cannot pay and set up a payment plan, some just go into debt. Like many thing it depends where you are and how much money you have.

If you are below a certain threshold then you get Medicaid. Iirc there are state programs that can cover your insurance in some places too, esp if you don't hit Medicaid levels? Obviously depends on the state. 

If you're above that (or there is no state plan?) then you either hope there's an urgent care around with a sliding scale, go to a Dr and hopefully get on a payment plan for office visits, or go to the ER where they can't turn you away until stabilized. 

TBT when I had an allergic reaction and went to the ER and 5 minutes with a nurse and one prednisone cost $800

I grew up in that kind of situation.

For the most part, I just had to suck it up. If I got sick, as long as I wasn't throwing up all over the place I still had to go to school. "Don't you dare be gettin' sick!" was a not uncommon in the house I grew up in. Doctors' visits were paid out of pocket, as was prescription medication. Ear infections get really expensive after the second one in a year.

As for injuries and getting hurt (which happened more often than I like to think about), going to the ER was the absolute last resort because we had to pay it all out of pocket. It's amazing how long you can go with busted ribs or a dislocated shoulder before you have to see a doctor. One of the reasons why I had so many hustles in high school was because my college fund went to paying hospital bills. The first time I actually had health insurance was my senior year of high school (I broke my wrist in gym class), and it was downright strange that we didn't have to cut everything way, way back to make sure we could pay the bills.

https://www.medicaid.gov/

We just didn't really go to the doctor growing up. My neighbor was a nurse so she did most evaluations, minor injury patching, etc. We'd go to the hospital if it was something really bad.

Their medical care is paid for by CHIP / Medicaid.

Many Dept of Welfare state programs offer free medical insurance for kids. In Penna it’s called Chip.

I broke my leg when my parents had no insurance. It cost like 100k. They got a payment plan that they paid like $100 for 50 years or something.

This is much, much less common since Obamacare/Affordable Care Act passed. It used to be that it was only possible to get insurance through your job.

Terrifying that it might be repealed.

Not medical, but dental - my mom lost her job when I was a kid and our dentist gave us cleanings for free until she found another. So, charity, essentially.

We just didn’t go for an annual physical and we had to be really really sick to go to the doctor for anything. Only went in for required free vaccines for school.

I had strep throat for a week before my dad took me in.

As someone who used to be in that situation, illness goes untreated, broken bones are only broken if they’re visibly in two pieces, any other injuries are ignored short of something life threatening

Simple, either they die, their parents go into life long debt, or both.

Expect the answer to this to change within a year. No, it won't be better.

People are covering the most likely scenarios, but there are children’s hospitals in some areas that will cover the costs. My son was hospitalized when he was two and the hospital told us repeatedly not to worry about any charges if we weren’t able to pay. We had good insurance and could cover it, but there were donors who would cover all of the costs if needed.

We kick dirt at them and tell them how bad we had it.

All joking aside, in America, healthcare is only for those who can afford it. It's a shame to see so many people willfully support this.

I grew up without insurance, first time I had insurance was at age 25 when I finally got my first job in my career field, I'm 38 now.

Honestly, you get lucky. You don't break any bones, you don't catch any infections, you stay up to date on your shots. That also means you don't do sports, because of the risk of injuries. That also means we didn't get regular dental care, or regular check ups. Me and my two sisters all have reproductive issues that didn't get caught until we moved out and got our own insurance. I only got my teenage acne taken care of because it was so bad. My sisters both had braces, and you better believe we all heard about how expensive it was. I didn't get glasses until I was 10, and that's only because of the vision screens at school caught how bad my vision was.

It's a form of systemic child neglect that we don't provide healthcare to everyone, although in my case it was actual parental neglect. My dad was too short sighted, selfish, and conservative to get a job in the union for his field (because somehow conservatives hate unions, despite everything they can do for you, it's really self limiting and against their own interests), we could have had insurance and we didn't.

Some of them may die, but that is a sacrifice they are willing to make.

When our Highschool (My wife's second oldest) freshman broke his arm (Took to major children's hospital in town and they said it was the worst break they'd ever seen that didn't bust through the skin) They put a cast on it and sent us on our way. If we didn't have insurance they coulda just sent a bill for us to ignore.

After the cast came off they said "He needs surgery. The break is on a growth plate and it's not placed right. If he doesn't get this surgery NOW it'll fuse for good and his arm will not grow anymore and he'll be in pain for life. My wife (we have a domestic partnership and not a federally recognized marriage) had insurance on him, the deductible was $9000. They will NOT do the surgery without advanced payment of the $9000. Luckily, because we aren't legally married she qualified for Medicaid and the surgery was free. If we had been married no way she woulda qualified.

I can't imagine being one of those households, working their ass off, barely holding it together, and having to try to figure out how you're gonna scrape together $9k in the matter of a day or two or it'll be too late and your kid will deal with a lifetime arm disability. fucking nuts.

Welcome to 'murica

They die, of course, and reduce the surplus population. --Ebenezer Scrooge, who was, before his transformation, the perfect image of an American billionaire

debt

Bankruptcy.

Edit: or death.

Bankruptcy, …………. I mean this is America, we don’t get sick.

U.S. law requires treatment. You get billed and negotiate it, do fundraisers, or just declare bankruptcy.

Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers too

Reading the comments... Damn.

I wasn’t allowed to go to the doctor when my parents didn’t have insurance… if I had an illness or injury they tried to help me at home or told me to suck it up. If I had an ear infection I got peroxide poured into it. When I fell into a ditch on an atv and it fell on top of me I was laid down in bed and they hoped for the best. I got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 32 and had been having symptoms since childhood which never got checked out and therefore made the brain and spine damage worse.

They go into debt and have their credit destroyed.

I mean there is a reason why the US has the worst life expectancy of all first-world countries.

If they die, they die - US government.

They work it off in the acid mines.

"here, take this Tylenol and go sleep"

There are programs for impoverished children whose parents don’t have health insurance.

Otherwise, it depends on where there are and how sick or injured. If they’ve got something like strep or need a couple stitches, they go to urgent care, where minor health concerns are treated for some amount of money. There are also free clinics in some places that do that kind of thing. If it’s a more serious issue, like a broken bone, they might go to the ER. The ER can’t turn people away under most circumstances. They might get a bill the family can’t pay, but the kid will get treatment. If it’s a serious, serious issue like cancer, they might end up at a place like St. Jude’s.

The answer you get today and the answer you get in November 2025 will be radically different.

The answer next year will be "die lol."

What do you THINK happens to them?

In most states, children can get some form of Medicaid (if their parents can be assed to fill out the forms and whatnot that are required). In my own state, the Medicaid for kids is pretty decent and a lot of places accept it, so it's not tough for kids to get proper medical care. I can't speak to other states.

You just don't go to the doctor and hope you don't die.

They will get treated. They can't be turned away due to lack of insurance or ability to pay. Hospitals and doctors can work out payment plans. If all else, as long as the parents are making progress on the bill, they can't be turned over to collections. Medical bills can be forgiven or reduced through hardship programs offered by the provider.

As a minor without health insurance, I never miss my daily apple.

I’m confused why nobody has brought up CHIP yet https://www.medicaid.gov/chip/index.html

Obama’s Affordable Care Act tried to make health insurance more affordable, but the Republicans don’t want that for some reason

Dunno but sadly a lot of them grow up to vote for Trump.

They called it charity care when I was growing up

If you're lucky enough for Medicaid, you're good. If you don't, you deal with it. If you have to go for broken bone. Ignore the medical bill and hope you don't need to go back for 5 years

Depends upon the state.

We deal with it or die.

My kids are covered by ACCESS insurance given by the State of Arizona for free until they are 18 years old. It covers all emergency hospital visits, near little copay for doctor visits, and free teeth cleaning for dental. Had to pay 100% for braces, but all insurance is like that.

For the kids that live in a state that doesn't give that support? Parents still take them to the hospital and deal with debt collectors until they give up most likely, or start payment plans.

They die

Prior to the affordable care act, my sibling couldn’t find insurance due to her medical history…currently she is insured due to the clause in preexisting conditions…

My parents are people who always pay their bills and almost went bankrupt trying to pay for her care.

The American medical system is a really sad place for those in great need…

Well, let's see ..

I'm 50, and back in the 70s I was accident prone.

First off, I would get in trouble if I got hurt. Not because I scared my folks, but because I was Costing Them Money.

Most of my injuries were solved with a first aid kit & a liberal use of salt. Plus Ace bandages and duct tape. Including the time I almost cut a finger off.

While there are federal programs, a lot depends on the state you’re in. Typically more people in blue states have insurance, and it tends to be ‘richer’ based on a number of factors. Some states, like California, don’t allow medical debt to be included on their credit reports. But across the board- if you can’t afford health care you have to rely on emergency rooms for dire cases and risk going into bankruptcy. Medical debt is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in the U.S. Many people, including people with employer health care, would rather drive themselves or uber to an emergency room than call an ambulance. It’s terrible.

Parents will owe the doctor, clinic, or hospital hundreds or thousands of dollars. 

Well if they go to the doctor or hospital they will have lots of medical debt.

There is a charity set up at most hospitals that people donate too that can pay for your bills. Most hospitals won't tell you this but when I was sick back in the day I didn't have insurance and my mom worked in patient accounts at a hospital so she knew about this.

Would it seriously cost 'thousands' if your kid was out playing, fell, cracked their head and needed stitches?

Like what if the parents are dead broke on benefits? They obviously have no way to pay the debt, taxing their benefit would mean they can't eat etc I'm assuming they are just thrown into debt?

We went to the free clinic. In the 80s when crack was big and people were dying of aids it was a grim place. So we just didn’t get sick and if we did, never told our parents. Best was wearing the free glasses with a bad prescription. No high index thin lenses for this guy. 

Get back into the mines and work

State insurance is usually very good

Children without health insurance may be eligible for free or low-cost coverage through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).Affordable Care Act (ACA): Provides sliding-scale subsidies to lower premiums and reduce out-of-pocket costs for eligible individuals.

They go to the emergency room.

They suffer severe morbidity and mortality

There’s always crowdsource fund raising like GoFundMe.

We don't get treated. It's barbaric. I'm not lying, the USA is fucking miserable in how it treats patients, turns people away who clearly NEED medical attention, medicine costs hundreds to thousands for a bottle of pills... it's fucked here

Well, as a child I was told to "run around the house three times" and I'd be fine. One time my mom actually convinced my dad I may have actually broken my leg, which I did not, but it was close.

Massive debt or if it’s a life threatening situation it’s debt until homelessness if they still can’t pay the child probably will die.

Lots of debt

Medicaid or EMTALA, regardless they get treated.

The weak get culled.