Final answer:
Private hospitals in the United States cannot turn away patients in emergency situations due to inability to pay, as federal law requires them to provide emergency medical treatment regardless of the patient's financial situation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to whether a private hospital can turn away patients who are unable to pay in case of an emergency. The answer to this is false. In the United States, under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), hospitals that accept payments from Medicare are required by federal law to provide emergency healthcare treatment to anyone needing it, regardless of citizenship, legal status, or ability to pay. Although this might sometimes lead to hospitals incurring costs that are not fully reimbursed, the law prioritizes patient care in emergency situations. Costs for such care can be passed on to taxpayers and health insurance holders, leading to higher costs in the healthcare system.
While profit-driven health care providers find poor people to be unattractive customers, especially those lacking health insurance outside of government-run programs like Medicaid, the requirement to provide emergency care without upfront payment aims to prevent health care accessibility issues based on financial status. This obligation reduces the incidence of impoverished patients delaying treatment until it becomes an emergency, which can be more costly and detrimental to their health.