re: #185 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

And if you cannot pay, then the ER is stuck with the costs that it has to pass along somehow.

Part of ACA is to reduce the number of ER visits by replacing them with much cheaper preventative care.

Or, of course, the other Free Market Blood God option is to revoke the Emergency Care act and allow ERs to turn away patients who cannot pay up front…

Oh, the hospitals and ERs will find ways to recoup the costs - sending collection agencies after those who can’t pay, so they’ll hound people for months and years after to get blood from the proverbial stone.

And yes, the hospitals have moved to reduce ER visits through preventative care. And building/supporting urgent care centers to divert cases that aren’t major from ERs where costs are much higher.