Do Republicans think ER treatment for the poor is free?

Question

I keep on hearing them bring this up in the health care debate..

"well anyone can go to the ER so everyone has health care"...

ever been to the ER? it's about the most expensive area in a hospital... and hospitals aren't eating the cost... they are passing it on...

so... we basically have "socialized medicine"... it's in just about in the most expensive area in the hospital and everyone is paying for it...

does that make sense to anyone?

a family doctor could do many of the things the ER does for those without insurance.. at a greatly reduced cost...

IT'S DONE IN THE MOST EXPENSIVE AND LEAST EFFICIENT MANNER RIGHT NOW... the ER shouldn't be used for basic medical care... that's the whole point... and it's costing us an ARM AND A LEG...

and where is my logic wrong? do you think this isn't happening?

medicaid is a different issue... there are many that aren't in poverty that can't afford insurance (making 20,000)... the uninsured is the issue that this describes...

Answer 1

Single payer health care (not insurance) is the only way to go for a civilized, industrialized country. The US used to lead the way but now we are behind the Europeans and even, goodness, the Canadians and the French.

I would think that this fact alone would make Americans upset.

Answer 2

Usually a trip to the ER can cost in the thousands. The use of the ER, a bill from the ER physician and all the costs associated with it.

The other reason Er's are over utilized, if it is a night or a weekend and you have an issue, your doc will tell you to go to the ER to wait for 6 hours!

And many are refused ER treatment unless they are in the middle of a coronary. Once stable they send them out the door!

If people could get preventative care before an illness required to get them to an ER would be a hell of a lot more inexpensive!

And you are right, the hospitals don't eat the costs! That's why a Tylenol they get for free costs you $10.00 and $35.00 for 1 antibiotic pill!

Health care is already being paid. What is at issue is who gets to keep their multi-million dollar salaries and 12 million dollar bonuses (and their stockholders are paid) and golden parachutes, like the head of Anthem! That is all money people paid for premiums that could actually be going toward medical care!

In just today's paper the largest segment of the US who has no health coverage are young adults!

Answer 3

Yes, the emergency room costs 3X-6X the amount of a regular office visit.
Since most doctors will not take medical cards from the welfare office anymore, at their private practices, people on this form of medical coverage are forced to goto the emergency room. So now we have a situation where the tax payer is paying at least 3X the amount of a normal office visit for each person.
We now have thousands of people that we are paying 3X the amount we should be for their medical bills, and on top of that, the people who don;t have coverage at all, that is being passed onto us in the form of higher medical expenses, after they file bankruptcy on them.

Utilizing a form of universal healthcare system, where more access is granted to health coverage via private insurance carriers, the co-pays would reduce the emergency room visits, for the comon cold, and reduce the amount of people walking around out their with untreated illnesses, lowering the frequency of occurance that the rest of us have to visit the doctor.

Its a win win situation for everyone.
If a welfare recipient goes to a doctor's office rather than the ER, that is at least 2 more people that can be covered for the same price.
That is 2 more people on anitbiotics, and not passing their illness to everyone else.
That is 2 more people that have their bills paid and the losses aren't being passed onto us in the form of higher costs.
That is 2 more people that aren't filing bankruptcy because of medical bills, and those costs of non-med related bills being passed on to us.
That translates to lower health care costs insurance rates, and lower costs of other goods and services for the rest of us.
It doesn't take a PhD in Business to realize that everyone will benefit.

Answer 4

Yes, the E.R is arguably the most expensive setting to provide health care; so... we basically have government paid medicine. You make a lot of sense. We could have (just an idea) neighborhood health care centers staffed by nurse practitioners, that could take care of of a lot minor problems thereby replacing the E.R in those cases.

Answer 5

Universal Health Care isn't the solution. Check on how SARS was spread in Canada. The great health care system had the guy in a waiting room for 18 hours infecting people.

Two of the problems is that
1) Priorities. I see a lot of people classified "poor" pissing away their cash at wal-mart on big screen TVs, nice rims for their car, stereos, clothes, jewelry, etc. They have maxed out credit. they don't have insurance. They'd rather be/look cool than having insurance.

2) Heath Care/Insurance companies got away with bundling their services with the workplace. If it was actually a capitalist system it would break out a few ways. Yeah, there would be the more expensive premium stuff but there would be decent stuff for everyone. Like Coffee you get Starbucks and then you get gas station coffee (but even they want to be premium). The current system is like if you only get 3-5 choices of coffee (or food or whatever) from your company and its too expensive outside of that and the choices are for a group not to individual taste. The universal/govt health care would be one coffee and anyone that has coffee at a govt cafeteria knows its the lowest-bidder, crappiest stuff. so stop kidding yourself, American health care was better in the pat because it was capitalist now its a lot like socialism but instead its tied to your job not the govt.

Answer 6

Are you answerers crazy? Sure you can get medical care at the ER but try paying the bill. It devastates your credit if you can't pay it. Then what no house, no car, no job? The people that HAVE insurance or plenty of money are the people that think we don't need reform. Have some compassion for your fellow American!

Answer 7

LOL at the ER ...i went in once in horrible pain after hours of test and a scan they said i had an std (which i had none of the symptons for and the nurse said you can catch from a dirty bathtub?) gave me medicine I didnt need and sent me home and billed me SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLERS
went to the doc the next day and my hip was out of place took all of 2 mins to put it back in
THE ER IS A JOKE

Answer 8

I agree g. Time to cut out the ER loophole.

Answer 9

it IS free ...ever hear of MEDICAID? really poor people, living in POVERTY (under $ 10,000 per year per individual total income) not the middle class poor.... are on Medicaid and most ALL health care is free, or may have a co -pay of $2 dollars which sounds like nthing but is alot sometimes when you are only living on $7,000 dollars a year and paying monthly expenses of rent, elec, heat, not to mention buying clothes and food, add in public transportation costs and maybe paying to have a phone as to feel a part of the world. so quit whining... take it up with the doctors who claim they are paying enormous malpractice ins rates oh boo hoo yeah right.. but are living in million dollar homes and sending their kids to the best universities. Doctors are GREEDY, and they think they are gods

Answer 10

You're missing the point. The reason most people claim we need socialized medicine is because these people 'can't get treatment'. You just admitted that they are getting treatment, and that we are already paying for it. So why do we need to provide insurance for everyone when even the poorest among us are getting care?