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The article outlines fairly well the primary reasons why this is an atrocious policy to adopt (even if it's fairly typical of some of the rationales for reimbur

The article outlines fairly well the primary reasons why this is an atrocious policy to adopt (even if it's fairly typical of some of the rationales for reimbursement or lack thereof). Another problem with the policy, though, is that many people are forced into ED use because there are simply not better options. Urgent care in the US has become fairly restricted in scope of services in a lot of areas, so the grey area between "urgent care worthy" and "ED-worthy" is larger than it should be. Many things that are maybe less ED-worthy become ED visits because urgent care is inaccessible, and delaying to urgent care or outpatient might make them emergency in nature. Even things like routine medication refills for certain groups can become ED visits because urgent care is closed, outpatient visits might be scheduling too far out, and so forth. Do some people abuse the ED? Sure. But then find another solution for those people.

selectodude 5y ago
> Do some people abuse the ED? Sure. But then find another solution for those people. Ironically they tend to be the uninsured because the ER can't turn you away. The solution is to get them insured.
- Broken_Hippo 5y ago
  This is really important: Health care should be really, really easy to afford. For some comparison: Since I moved out of the states, I pay less than $300 a year out of pocket (in general). My biggest expenses - a neurologist, for example - costs less than $50. As does the ER, honestly, or the clinic that deals with injuries (the ER will send folks over there). The rest is taxes, and taxes are lower than federal + state + insurance premiums in the US. Additionally, it isn't just insurance. If you work while the normal doctor is open and you don't have paid sick days, you might not be able to go to the doctor even if health care is free simply because you can't afford to miss work. You need paid time off for this sort of thing - and honestly, parents need more days since they have responsibility for than one person.
treeman79 5y ago
Urgent care is very lacking. I’ve had many episodes where I go in and they refuse to see me, say goto ER. Get to ER and they are annoyed that I didn’t goto an urgent care. Look I’m sorry my minor stroke annoys you, but something beyond go home and see if it turns into a major stroke would be appreciated.

selectodude 5y ago

> Do some people abuse the ED? Sure. But then find another solution for those people. Ironically they tend to be the uninsured because the ER can't turn you away. The solution is to get them insured.

Broken_Hippo 5y ago
This is really important: Health care should be really, really easy to afford. For some comparison: Since I moved out of the states, I pay less than $300 a year out of pocket (in general). My biggest expenses - a neurologist, for example - costs less than $50. As does the ER, honestly, or the clinic that deals with injuries (the ER will send folks over there). The rest is taxes, and taxes are lower than federal + state + insurance premiums in the US. Additionally, it isn't just insurance. If you work while the normal doctor is open and you don't have paid sick days, you might not be able to go to the doctor even if health care is free simply because you can't afford to miss work. You need paid time off for this sort of thing - and honestly, parents need more days since they have responsibility for than one person.

treeman79 5y ago

Urgent care is very lacking. I’ve had many episodes where I go in and they refuse to see me, say goto ER. Get to ER and they are annoyed that I didn’t goto an urgent care. Look I’m sorry my minor stroke annoys you, but something beyond go home and see if it turns into a major stroke would be appreciated.