When the debate on healthcare in America comes around to people saying that current system are getting priced out, and people are doing without, the reply will sometimes come back, "But you have emergency rooms, why complain?  In America, if anyone has a problem, they can go to an emergency room to get it taken care of."  If emergency rooms are such a great solution, why not replace private physicians with emergency rooms?

I'm not sure about the United States, but (last I heard) the cost of delivering healthcare in an Emergency Room was several times as expensive as getting the same care from a walk-in clinic or from your personal doctor (in Canada).

Man, fuck the emergency room. All they do is get you stable and refer you to a real physician. I've spent so many hours waiting in ER's for these doctors that don't seem to specialize in anything in particular. They charge a lot of money for emergency treatment and often don't solve the problem.

Also, in 2003, my grandmother went to the ER because she was having a stroke. They didn't even figure out what was going on and sent her home to finish having her stroke. She wound up losing almost all of her ability to speak and move and died in a nursing home eight weeks later. Good job on that one, Emergency Room!

Richard, given that you've had many medical problems, I think you know the answer to this.

Im not sure if you're joking, but emergency rooms are for- you know- emergencies. Its much cheaper to have ready and available preventative care.

?

not sure

the obvious argument against is that emergency care is ~10x more expensive.

the obvious reason for is that in politics $1 today is perceived as more expensive than the risk of $10 tomorrow.

And I have had people first-hand tell me I shouldn't see there is a problem, because there are emergency rooms about.  Those arguing base the view on that emergency rooms can't turn anyone away... which is because laws dictate it.

So, I could then also ask, why should hospitals be the only business that can't turn customers away?

I'd say the modern hypocratic oath has something to do with it...

Who says that you have to use hospitals?  Why not just put first aid stations along side of the road, as the free market dictates?  Also, it isn't the hypocratic oath that is part of this, but the fact that the laws say hospitals can't turn anyone away.