| Emergency rooms save millions of lives each year. | | | | visiting emergency rooms for non-emergency |
| However, there are occasions when they are used | | | | treatments. Whatever the reasons, ER costs rose by |
| unnecessarily. A large percentage of those cases | | | | 17 percent. The number of visits has also risen by 7 |
| involve uninsured patients seeking basic medical care, | | | | percent since that state's reforms were enacted in |
| since an ER is legally required to take them | | | | 2006. |
| in--regardless of their ability to pay. Another group are | | | | For one thing, millions of undocumented immigrants will |
| those who, due to lack of insurance, neglected their | | | | not receive help buying affordable health insurance. |
| health until their conditions became serious enough to | | | | They will not be allowed to participate in the regulated |
| require emergency treatment. The latter could be | | | | exchange markets expected to have cheaper options, |
| prevented, too. | | | | even if they use only their own money and do not |
| Supporters of healthcare reform have cited epidemic | | | | take any government subsidies. Therefore, this |
| as a reason to pass their bill. Due to the lack of a | | | | population will still resort to the nation's emergency |
| steady relationship with a patient, ER doctors often | | | | rooms when they are in need. |
| order expensive tests a primary care doctor might | | | | Even for those who become newly insured due to the |
| avoid through longer discussions and experience with | | | | legislation, there will continue to be struggles. It may be |
| the patients. In addition, hospital facilities have far higher | | | | difficult to find a physician that will take them, at least |
| fixed costs than most doctors' offices and clinics. Now | | | | initially. (Although the law includes funding to encourage |
| that the Obama administration's proposal is law, what | | | | the training of more primary care physicians, it takes |
| will reform do to alleviate the problem? | | | | time for them to go through the pipeline of medical |
| However, many believe that it will not be a panacea. | | | | school and residency.) In the meantime, they will also |
| Indeed, it wasn't in Massachusetts. There is speculation | | | | use emergency rooms. |
| that the previously uninsured had developed a habit of | | | | |