[retiredguy123]

my theory is that emergency rooms are a high profit part of the hospital. so, rather than screening out the non-emergencies and sending those people home, they opt to treatment everyone. the federal law regarding treating people who show up in the ER, is widely misunderstood. it only requires real emergencies to be treated and then only sufficient treatment to make the patient mobile. However, insurance has a special rate for emergencies that is 3-4 times the rate that can be charged by a non-emergency facility. For example, if you have insurance and go to your doctor for a sore throat, the insurance will pay about $80 for the office visit. But, if you go to the emergency room with the exact same sore throat, the insurance will pay $300-400. Hospitals should be required to screen out non-emergencies and send them home without treatment. They are ripping off the system by treating non-emergencies in the ER.