Too many people use the ER as their primary source of treament, especially those uninsured and on Medicaid
which drives up the cost of insurance for those of us who have it. As a former hospital administrator, we were always providing care to the uninsured by finding ways to increase prices to the insured WHICH INCREASES THE COST OF INSURANCE. Many of the people who overuse the ER could be seen in outpatient clinics, but there are many reasons they aren't. Add to that the fact that for all the wonderful technology the insured have access to, many others receive horrendous and sometimes [url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/02/waiting...

Too many people use the ER as their primary source of treament, especially those uninsured and on Medicaid
which drives up the cost of insurance for those of us who have it. As a former hospital administrator, we were always providing care to the uninsured by finding ways to increase prices to the insured WHICH INCREASES THE COST OF INSURANCE. Many of the people who overuse the ER could be seen in outpatient clinics, but there are many reasons they aren't. Add to that the fact that for all the wonderful technology the insured have access to, many others receive horrendous and sometimes deadly care.
We may spend the most on health care, some may have good healthcare, but the American system is broken for all of us.

Clip-on, back in 1993, when I was out of work, uninsured, and close to being penniless and homeless, I was assaulted by a redneck who got out of his car to blame me for his nearly running me over. An ambulance took me to a hospital. I had to have reconstructive surgery on my face (inclusing a cracked zygomatic arch). All along, I kept telling the doctors, the nurses, the other staff, that I had no insurance, no money and couldn't afford this care. All along, they kept telling me, "Don't wory about that. You need treatment." It became a mantra.

The next five years of my life were spent being hounded, threatened and harassed by collection agencies trying to squeeze me for that ER visit....

Clip-on, back in 1993, when I was out of work, uninsured, and close to being penniless and homeless, I was assaulted by a redneck who got out of his car to blame me for his nearly running me over. An ambulance took me to a hospital. I had to have reconstructive surgery on my face (inclusing a cracked zygomatic arch). All along, I kept telling the doctors, the nurses, the other staff, that I had no insurance, no money and couldn't afford this care. All along, they kept telling me, "Don't wory about that. You need treatment." It became a mantra.

The next five years of my life were spent being hounded, threatened and harassed by collection agencies trying to squeeze me for that ER visit. I wa told to expect late-night visits, arrest, imprisonment, lawsuits and total forfeiture of everything I owned. Finally, after moving a couple of times, changing phone numbers and a few other things, they seemed to give up, but to this day, I never answer the phone if I do not recognize the caller ID.

That's the American way, I guess.

Deb, sometimes outpatient clinics turn away people with inadequate or no insurance. Most places I've lived, ERs had to treat regardless of financial considerations. Other than pointing that out, I completely agree.

Jorjor, you're right. My daughter had a severe kidney infection, and is now being hounded for this $3,000 plus bill. Without treatment she would have died writhing in pain from infection.

This is from a great show I watched last week on The Doctors TV Show.

“But, in a country where there are over 120 million visits to the E.R. each and every year, in a country where, wonderfully, no matter who you are, you can go get treatment if you need it, that’s a great thing. But once you go home from the hospital after that tragic accident, and all of a sudden you get that first bill, and it’s $50,000 -- your whol...

Jorjor, you're right. My daughter had a severe kidney infection, and is now being hounded for this $3,000 plus bill. Without treatment she would have died writhing in pain from infection.

This is from a great show I watched last week on The Doctors TV Show.

“But, in a country where there are over 120 million visits to the E.R. each and every year, in a country where, wonderfully, no matter who you are, you can go get treatment if you need it, that’s a great thing. But once you go home from the hospital after that tragic accident, and all of a sudden you get that first bill, and it’s $50,000 -- your whole life, you’ve paid your bills on time, have wonderful credit, but you decide that, ‘I’m young, healthy. I don’t need health insurance.’ For the rest of your life you’re going to be trying to catch up from that one accident because you didn’t have insurance.”

And you are right deb2012 ...

Too many people use the ER as their primary source of treament, especially those uninsured and on Medicaid

This does increase the costs for everyone. But the alternative is watching people get sick and die on the streets like in a third world country ... not that that doesn't happen in America too!

This again from the same show on The Doctors ... said by the ER doctor, Dr. Travis ...

Forty-six million people in America are uninsured -- 14 million by choice -- and one out of every three people under the age of 65 were uninsured at some point during 2007-08. “The problem is, people don’t think about healthcare or their insurance until a problem happens

Until we have a valid way to 'fix' this ... we are stuck with the way it is now. Poverty kills.

At another time, I was having problems with a strange kind of blackout - I was ambulatory and able to do things so that if nobody knew there was something wrong, they wouldn't even notice me. A friend suggested that it might be a form of epilepsy, and that I should be checked. I asked my doctor, only to be told that the HMO wouldn't approve the tests - the cost couldn't be justified for a patient request.

Several years later I did get tested and was found to be epileptic, but in the meanwhile, I'd had a seizure while driving, caused a fatal accident, went to jail and lost my job. Fortunately, the diagnosis got me probation instead of prison, but none of that wouldn't have happened of som...

At another time, I was having problems with a strange kind of blackout - I was ambulatory and able to do things so that if nobody knew there was something wrong, they wouldn't even notice me. A friend suggested that it might be a form of epilepsy, and that I should be checked. I asked my doctor, only to be told that the HMO wouldn't approve the tests - the cost couldn't be justified for a patient request.

Several years later I did get tested and was found to be epileptic, but in the meanwhile, I'd had a seizure while driving, caused a fatal accident, went to jail and lost my job. Fortunately, the diagnosis got me probation instead of prison, but none of that wouldn't have happened of some bean-counting PRIVATE SECTOR bureaucrat hadn't come between me and my doctor, all so stockholders could get an extra penny per share on their dividends.

Had it been someone from the government making the choice, they might have put the patient ahead of the profits. This is why I hate the US healthcare "system" - I have reasons to do so.

Better bureaucrats, controlled by a list of standards set by health care professionals administering your healthcare, than an accountant, controlled by a profits spreadsheet.

Anyone who prefers privately-funded healthcare over government healthcare is a moron.

Oh, and don't believe those lies about Canadians waiting in long lines for healthcare. It's a lie. We get healthcare in a very timely manner; usually faster than Americans, in fact, since we don't have to wait for basic test and procedures to be approved. The only place where there is a waiting list any longer than in the US is for completely elective surgery. And that tends to be about 75% longer than the same waiting lists in the U...

Better bureaucrats, controlled by a list of standards set by health care professionals administering your healthcare, than an accountant, controlled by a profits spreadsheet.

Anyone who prefers privately-funded healthcare over government healthcare is a moron.

Oh, and don't believe those lies about Canadians waiting in long lines for healthcare. It's a lie. We get healthcare in a very timely manner; usually faster than Americans, in fact, since we don't have to wait for basic test and procedures to be approved. The only place where there is a waiting list any longer than in the US is for completely elective surgery. And that tends to be about 75% longer than the same waiting lists in the US, so it's not what the right-wing nutjobs are trying to pretend it is. They picked one minor detail, and spun a huge fiction based on it, trying to paint the entire system based on that one thing.

And remember, whenever the Right Wing starts screaming for Small Government, that's really just code for "Government for the Rich, By the Rich; and everyone else is Screwed"!