Am I Still Entitled to Emergency and Other Necessary Medical Treatment in California if I Don’t Have Health Insurance?

The short answer here is, yes. Under both state and federal law, hospitals are required to provide emergency treatment to stabilize the medical condition of any patient injured in a motor vehicle collision. However, if you do not have medical insurance, you will be billed directly by the medical providers for the services rendered. While many hospitals have discounts or ability to apply for a waiver of bills, there is nothing legally requiring these medical providers to treat people free of charge. This means that people without health insurance can and do get billed directly for services rendered. They also do not get the benefit of contractual reductions required by medical insurance companies or legally mandated reductions for medicare or Medi-Cal rates. Technically, you can be billed for the full amount and you can be sent to collections or sued for failing to pay these bills.