We as a people need to be louder, right?
I work in a hospital so nothing surprises me. I walk past the ER waiting room several times a day and they are all lined up for their “free” medical care. They even bring meals to eat while they pass the time and the patient often has a huge extended family with them. They know their rights and get irritated when an interpreter isn’t instantly available. If they have to be admitted the Mexican consulate literally thumbs their noses at our case management people who attempt to have them transferred to a Mexican hospital. We hemorrhage money taking care of these people and there isn’t a darned thing we can do about it. I think I’m most offended by their unearned sense of entitlement.
I have lived for extended periods of time in Mexico. The Mexican government teaches them, from an early age, that they are entitled. Trouble is, the Mexican government doesn’t have the resources to deliver. But they come here, to a wealthy, First World country, and they expect us provide them with what they think they’re entitled to — and we do. Also, they don’t have the same concept of “earned” and “unearned” that we do.
Not only that, in some hospitals it is so bad, if you have a real emergency, you are better off making an emergency appt with your own doctor. Depending on your condition judged at triage, you may be seen much sooner.