If you don’t have insurance, you may be placed on a 72-hour hold. However, if you have insurance, your length of stay depends on your coverage. I’ve witnessed situations where individuals threaten to harm themselves if they’re not allowed to stay longer in the hospital, but are told to leave once their insurance coverage ends.

I’m not being cynical, as I experienced this myself during my last inpatient stay. Although I was approved for 5 days, I pleaded to leave for the first 4 days. On the 5th day, I made peace with being there. During my previous stays, my insurance continued to cover additional days, resulting in longer stays than I expected. But this time, I was discharged on day 5, even though I wasn’t expecting to leave. It was a Sunday, and my doctor wasn’t even there. However, my insurance had run out, so the hospital didn’t care if I was ready to leave or not. When your insurance coverage ends, that’s how long you stay.