> uninsured people still get care anyway (showing up at the ER) This is somewhat of a myth; at least it is nuanced. The care in the ER is to stabilize the pati

> uninsured people still get care anyway (showing up at the ER) This is somewhat of a myth; at least it is nuanced. The care in the ER is to stabilize the patient, not fix them. They provide acute care only. Even acute care can be quite limited. People are triaged based on how acute their case is. Many languish in an uncomfortable waiting room for hours till they crash or leave. This rationing is done by limiting the beds so that the ER is almost always over capacity. This is by design. Since ER are cost centers, when a hospital asks for a building permit from the municipality, the number of emergency room beds open to the public is the primary negotiation. It's the bottleneck that limits costs. Emergency beds equipped to handle trauma, e.g, gunshot wounds or car accidents, is even more limited. To avoid costs, many hospitals simply do not have a trauma center, unless the municipality agrees to have significant subsidy. People die in ambulances while they search for a hospital with an open trauma bed. This is a complex and heartbreaking topic.