Don't they only have to treat you if it's life or death? And only have to treat the life or death problem? Such as they don't have to give you an expensive MRI, just latch you up and get you out the door?
Let's say you have a hernia and need surgery to fix it..would they still
Treat you knowing it won't kill you, just make your life very uncomfortable?
Or if you have diabetes and need meds to manage it, they don't have to give you meds... They'll just take care of you if you come in dying, patch you up and then out the door you go with no meds still?
My understanding is anything life or death they'll take care of - anything "quality of life", such as a broken arm... They can refuse you if they don't think they'll get paid for it.
Not sure if that's still accurate, I know it was 20 years ago, all the TV shows I watch still portray it that way.... But I don't take TV shows as fact

just as Canada's healthcare is overblown in one direction, I'm sure America healthcare portrayal is just as skewed in the other direction.
[Edit] I was curious so I looked it up... Apparently a broken arm is considered an emergency so they have to examine you, and potentially put a cast on you.... But if it's broken in multiple areas / requires surgery, a cast is deemed sufficient.
A hernia can be considered an emergency if it's causing your organs to fail / you're at risk of dying... But is considered an elective surgery if you're not at risk of dying and are just in a lot of pain, so they can refuse to repair your hernia unless it's life threatening.