It's not free. To say that people don't need health insurance because hospital emergency rooms are always there means that someone else is likely paying for it. Either through higher charges to insurance companies, and higher premiums for policy holders, or through tax dollars. You don't think there's a cheaper solution?
The worst solution is the emergency room....
There are people at both end, children and the elderly that should have medical care. In between are people that have handicaps, beyond that we have to look at changing the over all health of our nation.
I work in a wound care facility. Probably 60% or more have adult onset diabetes and marked obesity, self inflected diseases. If any have a non healing wound below the knee the prognosis of being alive in five years is less than 50%. In that time frame hundreds of thousands of dollars is paid for the care, while the diabetes is improved.