[passionfruit]

It's about time this was recognized as a problem. I live in Southern Califrnia. I despise the fact that our emergency rooms are packed with "the poor", usually immigrants, who use our emergency rooms as free clinics, because by law they can not be turned away.

They go there for treatment of non emergency problems that you and I go to see our primary care physician for. The problem arises when someone with a legitimate emergency shows up, and they are made to wait (if the emergency is not visably life threatening), usually for hours behind the masses waiting to see the Doc for free.

Been there, done that.

Not only are you made to suffer for a very long time, but then you get tp pay your bill, and through taxes, you get to pay for the guy that abused the system and made you wait.

[judgeandjury]

I despise the fact that our emergency rooms are packed with "the poor", usually immigrants, who use our emergency rooms as free clinics, because by law they can not be turned away.

Even though federal law dictates that everyone who goes to an emergency room is required to be seen by a member of the emergency room medical staff, usually the triage nurse, federal law doesn't dictate that the patient has to be provided medical treatment beyond having his or her condition diagnosed. Maybe its time for emergency rooms to start cracking down on patients who abuse the system by telling them that the emergency room medical staff doesn't have time to provide treatment for their hangnail, blister, or sore throat.

[henderson field]

But wait that's not all. Your insurance premiums reflect the cost of free health care for immigrants legal and illegal. Some places in the migrant-rich southwest they are $1200 a month.

[janetgreen]

You are describing the emergency care situation correctly. All hospital ERs in southern California are overloaded with non-paying customers. The only ones who don't have to worry if insurance will cover the visit are the illegal aliens. They aren't even asked if they have insurance, and they know they won't have to pay.

God help the American citizen who doesn't have insurance and has to be admitted to a hospital.