It’s not really about DNA. Deliberately using a false name to escape money owed? In any other context, no one would consider that anything other than fraud. It’s only understandable here because of the unique dysfunction of our medical system. But unfortunately, legally speaking, it’s no different than any other fraud. Obtaining a good or service with no intention of paying for it is legally simply theft or fraud. It’s no different than if you dine and dash at a restaurant. The hospital can absolutely report you to the police in that case. And it’s not like the cops are inexperienced with tracking people down of unknown identity. The hospital will have a lot of details about you - your gender, height, weight, age, ethnicity, etc. And your medical treatment may leave behind identifying marks or scars, your blood type, etc. that could make you easily identifiable once caught. And above all else, they’ll have video of you in the hospital.
Even if you were a complete unknown in the system, the police could easily track you down. They catch people who rob gas stations with far less info than what you give to a hospital, even using a pseudonym.
Now, if you were actually charged with fraud or theft, a judge would likely go easy on your for this type of crime. Juries would be very sympathetic to someone who did this. So you would probably avoid jail time. But at the very least the court would still order you to pay the hospital what you owe them.
It’s not really about DNA. Deliberately using a false name to escape money owed? In any other context, no one would consider that anything other than fraud. It’s only understandable here because of the unique dysfunction of our medical system. But unfortunately, legally speaking, it’s no different than any other fraud. Obtaining a good or service with no intention of paying for it is legally simply theft or fraud. It’s no different than if you dine and dash at a restaurant. The hospital can absolutely report you to the police in that case. And it’s not like the cops are inexperienced with tracking people down of unknown identity. The hospital will have a lot of details about you - your gender, height, weight, age, ethnicity, etc. And your medical treatment may leave behind identifying marks or scars, your blood type, etc. that could make you easily identifiable once caught. And above all else, they’ll have video of you in the hospital.
Even if you were a complete unknown in the system, the police could easily track you down. They catch people who rob gas stations with far less info than what you give to a hospital, even using a pseudonym.
Now, if you were actually charged with fraud or theft, a judge would likely go easy on your for this type of crime. Juries would be very sympathetic to someone who did this. So you would probably avoid jail time. But at the very least the court would still order you to pay the hospital what you owe them.