Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill14564
I see a difference between being given a medicaid "card" to use for health insurance and medicaid funds being given to hospitals that provide emergency services to the uninsured. Still, there are some States that provide a limited amount of direct medicaid coverage to undocumented individuals.
In the case of treating the uninsured, what would you have the emergency rooms do? Should they leave someone untreated if they don't have insurance? Should they ascertain someone's citizenship or immigration status and only leave the undocumented untreated? I don't like the immigration situation any more than anyone else but I can't see leaving people to die in the waiting room or allowing hospitals to go broke and close because those they save cannot pay.
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I agree that emergency treatment should be provided for "real" emergencies. But I don't think hospital emergency rooms should provide non-emergency care for anyone, insured or not, because it causes long wait times for people who really need the care. There is a common misconception about the Federal law regarding what emergency rooms are required to do. They only need to stabilize a patient so that he/she can be transferred somewhere else. Hospitals receive large amounts of money from local, state, and the Federal Government to treat indigent patients. Some uninsured people use the emergency room as their primary care facility, which hospitals should not allow.