As this article from the Seattle Times illustrates, American hospitals have an ethical duty to care for everyone, including uninsured illegals.  But how far does that go?

In the case cited by the Times, a Guatemalan national here illegally suffered brain damage in a horrific accident.  After racking up approximately $1.5 million as a ward of the hospital system over 4 or so years, the hospital system finally arranged for a charter flight and forcibly sent him back to his official country (Guatemala).

This new wave of deportations is not officially sanctioned by the U.S., and in fact it is completely private, which is what makes it so interesting.

Expect plenty of legal battles over cases just like this over the coming years.

But the next time you get a $12,000 bill from the hospital for an overnight stay, a fair question to hospital administrators might be:  “How many uninsured illegals am I subsidizing?”