My wife has had a couple mysterious illnesses that sent her to the ER. She saw a doctor within a couple hours. In both instances, there wasn't any life threaten

My wife has had a couple mysterious illnesses that sent her to the ER. She saw a doctor within a couple hours. In both instances, there wasn't any life threatening issue. Granted the ER was pretty empty, but waiting a few more hours rather than weeks wouldn't have been a big deal. Copays aren't that big of a deal when you're in extreme pain. Ours was $100 per ER trip. Surely that would dissuade people with ear aches. Had it been a 20% coinsurance charge, then we probably would have tried urgent care first, or waited longer. But you can see how having insurance (or a certain type of insurance) can affect your behavior, in a way that's not so predictable. Many policy makers were surprised by the results of the Oregon Medicare Study as are many people learning about moral hazard for the first time. It's counter-intuitive.