Why didnt Joe Buck just get Ratso a Doctor or take him to the hospital?
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BugisStreetAnnie — 10 years ago(January 20, 2016 07:37 PM)
in reality the hospital would treat Ratso quickly and then kick him out quickly because hospitals hate homeless people that have no money to pay for treatment and Ratso was dirt poor.
I had thought this also. I don't know if anyone saw this feature on Rock Center a few years ago called 'Limbo Patients." Some of the patients had been living in hospitals for several years because they had no where else to go and their families didn't have the means to take them in. It was said that by law they couldn't throw them out unless they had a place to stay.
My first thought was why didn't they put them in a nursing home instead. Well, apparently nursing homes aren't required to take someone in if they don't have insurance or getting Medicaid, so they don't. It took one man a year or two to finally get approved for Medicaid to get accepted at a nursing home. If I remember correctly he didn't have any family members.
"He had Four-on-the-Floor and I was ready to Clutch" -
InherentlyYours — 10 years ago(February 21, 2016 12:14 AM)
If Joe called an ambulance, I can't imagine how it would play out. He would need to explain the circumstances of Ratso's condition, which was not really an emergency. They likely would tell him to walk in to the emergency room, as they ask Ratso to fill out paperwork etc. Not realistic. A free clinic would have been better, since it would not be so intimidating, but Joe could not force Ratso to aboard an ambulance or enter a clinic and health care workers are not that personally invested , especially in crowded NYC.
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lmh-10 — 10 years ago(January 11, 2016 10:32 AM)
"why doesnt Joe Buck just leave the apartment and call 911"
The movie was released in 1969 and 911 was brand spanking new in 1968 and not all areas of the country had it even in 1969. For example, Chicago didn't have 911 service until 1976. NYC did have 911 in 1968 but would Joe Buck know?
Of course, Joe Buck could of dialed '0' and gotten emergency assistance but the 911 was an anachronism I couldn't resist pointing out. -
Matthew7819 — 10 years ago(March 25, 2016 12:01 PM)
Calling an ambulance would have been a risky move, number one they were living in an abandoned building and the ambulance crew would report them trespassing or squatting to the police and then they would alert the landlord, they would lose their home and be locked out, possibly face charges for that and being there because it would be obvious that they were living there.
Then Ratso has to agree to go with the paramedics and get taken to the hospital and he could always refuse to go with them at all, they cant make someone go to a hospital against their will in a democracy, at most Ratso would get looked at on the spot and be told that he was sick and advised to go to the hospital, if he did agree to go he couldnt afford to pay for the treatment and would have been kicked out within 24 hours after the basic level of treatment, they might be locked out of that building during this time too.
Ratso would get angry with Joe for violating his wishes and would be no better off than he was before, now at best Ratso would be taken to the hospital and go to the ER Emergency Room, giving all kinds of shots and tests and free food, get a bath and be told what was wrong with him, then kicked out after they couldnt do anything more for him, the city of New York would be given the bill to pay and they would probably lose their apartment after the landlord shut them out, Ratso might heal but might get sick again later.
Basically at best Ratso would be helped on a bare level and released, they cannot keep someone against their will in a hospital, if Ratso refused to go with the ambulance crew they would just leave and tell the police that two homeless guys were squatting in an abandoned building that was condemned, they might get arrested for that, Ratso could die in jail but might also go to the infirmary and recover there, Joe Buck would have to ply his trade in the general population and would get raped after his Hustler act was revealed during random jailhouse small talk.
Not a good ending anyway. -
prismabird — 10 years ago(March 29, 2016 07:27 AM)
Actually, arrest might have helped Ratso - there have been cases of people committing obvious crimes specifically to get help for a medical condition. I recall one case where a man went around slashing tires in broad daylight because he had a gastric condition that he couldn't afford to treat. But that would only work if what Ratso died of was septic pneumonia, and not TB. I personally think it was pneumonia, because there was no blood when he coughed, but I've heard that the filmmakers intended for it to be TB.
The idea of Joe and Ratso in jail together is kind of interesting. This is why I wish MC were big enough to have a real fandom. The two of them are such wonderful characters that it's great fun to shove them into different locations and situations and see what they do. -
InherentlyYours — 9 years ago(April 05, 2016 03:08 AM)
Matthew7819.
You keep using the term "kicked out". Is that supposed to be macho (or trendy-extreme ) of you, or do you think everybody is that mean? Have you ever been to the ER to know? Maybe we can some these long essays on the board "kicked out" -
Matthew7819 — 9 years ago(April 06, 2016 10:14 AM)
Hospitals kick out homeless bums and people that cant afford to pay for their treatments, taxpayers get the bill unless the person has a legal address and can be forced to pay.
Landlords and police kick out squatters that are found living on their property like inside of abandoned buildings, or they arrest them and block the property so they cant return and live there again.
So kicked out is correct and accurate, do you really think that hospitals would allow bums to remain inside after their treatment was finished? They are released quickly which is being kicked out in polite terms, landlords and police kick out squatters, homeless people living on property but not renting or legally being allowed to live there, its trespassing, why start arguing?
Im just being logical, care to offer a counterpoint? I welcome it, but thats reality and its cruel. -
Tenarife60 — 6 years ago(October 17, 2019 09:37 AM)
I have a cousin who has never worked and when she went to the hospital for an emergency she got Medicaid on the spot. She was in there for about two weeks, then a month later she was put back in but this time for about a week. She has been using Medicaid ever since to see doctors and to pay for her meds. She was never kicked out or denied anything, though. I did think they would boot her off of Medicaid after a year because in our state you're supposed to be disabled for at least a year to get approved for Medicaid and I'm not sure if she is actually considered disabled.
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riddick-11114 — 9 years ago(December 03, 2016 08:52 AM)
Ratso told Joe Buck not to take him to see any doctors, he would have refused to speak with them at all probably, also Ratso didnt want to leave that building and Joe couldnt drag him out easily, imagine dragging him all the way to the hospital, now he could call the hospital and tell them that he had a sick boy on his hands here and that he needed them to pick him up, Ratso might meet with them and get basic treatment and told that he was very sick and needed to go to the hospital with them, he might refuse to go.
They were also squatting inside of that condemned building, the ambulance drivers would notice this because of the signs outside and the bad conditions, they might call the landlord and inform him that two homeless looking guys were living inside of his abandoned property, that would get them arrested for squatting and trespassing.
So it might backfire, Ratso would also become very angry with Joe and that might end their partnership, best case scenario is that Ratso goes on an ambulance with them and gets basic treatment at the hospital, is given all kinds of shots and free food and a bath, if he had tuberculosis he might be forced to stay longer, with pnuemonia he would just get medicine and released the same day or later, i know because they did that to me.
But none of it seems like it happen, him having a serious illness potentially like Tuberculosis might cause a lot of things to happen, they didnt have a cure for that yet back then wouldnt want to release an infected person back on the streets so soon, he might be kept for a long time, Ratso wouldnt like that at all, and Joe wouldnt be allowed to stay at the hospital.