Can a hospital refuse admission?

If you are not an emergency patient, a hospital can turn you away if it has no free beds or if it cannot deal with your condition. But no hospital may refuse to admit you because of your race, religion, or national origin. Nor it may demand a deposit if you receipt Medicare or Medicaid.
Some nations have laws forbidding hospitals to reject non-emergency patients who cannot pay. Whether your ability to pay affects your admission depends on the hospital. In America, hospitals that received federal assistance for construction are required by the Hill-Burton Act, for 20 years after construction is completed, to provide care to a reasonable volume of patients who cannot afford to pay for it. Such hospitals must publish notice of availability of such funds and must alert those seeking care that funds are available. There may be eligibility requirements, and the hospitals funds for such care are not unlimited.
Once you have been admitted to a hospital, you cannot be prevented from leaving, even if you are unable to pay your bill. As long as you are mentally competent, you may leave at any time. If the hospital staff thinks you are too ill or physically incapacitated to leave, you may be asked to sign a “discharge against medical advice” form, but you have the right to refuse to sign it.

EMERGENCY ROOM RIGHTS

You have a legal right to emergency room care as long as you truly have a medical emergency. If a hospital cannot treat you in an emergency, it must refer you to a one that can—after the staff has determined that you do indeed require immediate care. Some examples of true emergency conditions are heavy bleeding from major blood vessels, heart attack, stopped breathing, deep shock, ingestion or exposure to fast-acting poison, a penetrating wound to the heart or lungs, severe head injury, or an acute psychotic state.
If possible, have a friend or relative accompany you to the emergency room to help you make decisions if you are in too much pain or too upset to understand the nature of your condition or the treatment that is proposed. Make sure you understand and approve all tests and treatments that are ordered. Remember, you have the right to refuse proposed emergency care, as long as you are mentally competent to make that decision. These precautions are not always possible in an emergency situation, but it is important to know you have rights.
Try to get your primary care doctor involved immediately, either by calling him before you leave for the hospital or by asking emergency room staff to call him once you get there. You have every right to expect your primary doctor to oversee your care, even on an emergency basis.