People go to the emergency room because they think they have to be treated regardless of ability to pay there.
they think they have to be treated regardless of ability to pay there.
They WILL be treated regardless of ability to pay there. Federal law that they can’t be turned away.
An old article... https://www.salon.com/2012/07/05/reagans_healthcare_mandate/
As the Romney campaign debates itself about whether the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate is an evil tax or an unconstitutional penalty, it’s worth remembering that Republican presidential icon Ronald Reagan imposed his own national healthcare mandate on the country. The mandate is well know today — it requires emergency rooms to treat anyone in need, regardless of their ability to pay — but the fact that Reagan signed it into law is often forgotten.
Interestingly, none other than Michelle Obama was part of the group in Chicago that did everything to keep these indigent folks out of their ERs by forcing them to other clinics. And from what I remember, it wasn’t pretty. But, of course that side of the story was never told about that power couple(/sarc).