Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Wisconsin

Hospital or Medical Services/Admission Agreement Enforceability

I could not begin to advise anyone as to the validity of an agreement or contract without seeing it,. I would also need to research the issue of whether or not a medical facility can or cannot lawfully deny care to those who refuse to sign it. The answer could be different depending upon whether they were a chartable institution or a private "for profit" hospital; whether or not they had an emergency room; whether or not the person needing the care was conscious; and whether or not it was an emergency situation. Generally speaking, anyone receiving reasonable and necessary medical care is legally responsible for the reasonable and customary fees for that care. This is true either with or without a signed agreement under the “doctrine of necessities.” This includes parental liability for the care of certain family members and legal dependants. Each of these references to the word "reasonable," however, is an opportunity for litigation and a chance dispute legal responsibility. The same applies to other vague terms such as "customary" and "necessary," which are common in medical billing parlance (and medical litigation). In short, only a judge or jury can ultimately resolve the issue in a contested case. The vast majority of medical collections, however, are not contested cases—liability is established when the debtor fails to contest the claim, regardless of whether or not it was originally a valid claim. Failure to timely contest any claim turns a questionable claim into an enforceable one.