Autumn Daniels went to the hospital with a severe migraine. After four hours in the waiting room, she left to try a different facility — but the ER still charged her.
In principle I do agree with you - ER care should absolutely prioritise the sickest individuals first, to ensure the least loss of life.
But I can only reconcile that in the case where you are not actively being charged for the privilege of waiting in line.
When everybody in that room is being charged hundreds of dollars for the privilege of suffering in line, then that philosophy can kindly fuck off. See the people who started paying first.
I mean I also believe you shouldn’t be charged for access to emergency medical help at all (tax payer fund it) - but that’s a non-sequitur
The charge isn’t for waiting in line, and it doesn’t increase with time spent in the waiting room. The charge is for whatever they already did. Triaging and vitals are a thing someone is doing. And in emergency medicine, everything is expensive. This is why for those who are able, Urgent Care centers are much more useful than an emergency department. And why we should be prioritizing preventative measures rather than treating the ER like a primary care physician.
(Or, more accurately, why we should become like every other developed nation and have universal healthcare.)
In principle I do agree with you - ER care should absolutely prioritise the sickest individuals first, to ensure the least loss of life.
But I can only reconcile that in the case where you are not actively being charged for the privilege of waiting in line.
When everybody in that room is being charged hundreds of dollars for the privilege of suffering in line, then that philosophy can kindly fuck off. See the people who started paying first.
I mean I also believe you shouldn’t be charged for access to emergency medical help at all (tax payer fund it) - but that’s a non-sequitur
The charge isn’t for waiting in line, and it doesn’t increase with time spent in the waiting room. The charge is for whatever they already did. Triaging and vitals are a thing someone is doing. And in emergency medicine, everything is expensive. This is why for those who are able, Urgent Care centers are much more useful than an emergency department. And why we should be prioritizing preventative measures rather than treating the ER like a primary care physician.
(Or, more accurately, why we should become like every other developed nation and have universal healthcare.)