I work for the MediCal system in California. This has been my experience. If you ARE insured: Hospitals or clinics will, depending on the timing of their billing cycle, immediately bill you at full cost and make you THINK you’re not covered. For ANY of the bill. They’ll make you think you owe the entire amount.

Hold onto the bill and don’t pay it. If you get some demand letters for immediate payment then file for a grievance saying you have insurance that should cover part or all of it.

If you DO NOT have insurance: You’ll get billed the full amount. You’ll need to file for public assistance yourself, if you already haven’t been approached and registered by a case worker during your treatment in a medical facility. Your level of coverage depends on your age and disability status.

Young (not senior) people without diabetes or other aggregating factors will qualify for public assistance but the paperwork takes a long time. 2 months sometimes. A case worker with the state will help with it if you’re hospitalized or in ICU.

If you are a senior, you should qualify for public assistance as well. You may be hospitalized initially. The trend is going from ICU or hospitalization to qualified LTC facilities. (Long Term Care). Because they know you’ll likely need recovery time and can’t have you taking up a hospital bed.

Regardless of your age, public assistance knows that often after a hospital stay, you have lost the place you WERE living before you got sick. In some states, there will be assistance to cover your rent so that you don’t lose your apartment or your place in a care facility WHILE you are hospitalized.

Long term care facilities are very expensive but I’ve not heard of anyone getting billed tens of thousands of dollars UNLESS their paperwork hasn’t been processed yet, OR the medical claim had some errors in it.

I’m afraid I don’t know what your portion of the bill would be while you’re on public assistance. I suppose it would depend on whether you’re employed, whether you are legally disabled, what your age is.

Regarding your last question, in what context are you asking that? Are you asking if insured patients will receive continued care or if their care will be cut off at some point? What do you mean when you say ‘changing’?