A big health insurer is planning to punish patients for 'unnecessary' ER visits (they won't pay)

a reply to: redhorse

Agreed. The absolute horrible treatment from the drone like staff, the wait time, and the absolute sky high costs with absolutely no guarantee anyone will get it right (except law suits) keep most away.

The main reason people use the ER is they "got no money".

Think about it for just a second. People hate lines, people hate being treated like sh, and people hate being ripped off.
The ER has all of those thing. The only reason I would go to that F-ing place are kids, wife, or if something in hanging from a tendon (for me).

It is about the money, it always is. The system does not want to pay, and they don't care if the poor do not get "servcie" and yes that includes people who pick our tomatoes.

a reply to: redhorse

Agreed to an extent. Here's the best idea heard on health care and it comes from none other than Bill Clinton:

So here’s the simplest thing ― you raise your hands and you think about it ― here’s the simplest thing: Figure out an affordable rate and let people use that ― something that won’t undermine your quality of life, won’t interfere with your ability to make expenses, won’t interfere with your ability to save money for your kid’s college education. And let people buy in to Medicare or Medicaid.

www.politifact.com...

originally posted by: justme2
My typical night in the ED consists of seeing pt's that shouldn't be there. I do realize that it is a "safety net" for some, and that is perfectly fine. However - those pt's make up maybe 1%. Then we have another 1% with actual emergencies, and the other 98% consist of true non-emergent pt's that heavily monopolize resources in the ED.

You've had a cold for 2 days? But now at 0300 it's an emergency? NO. Non emergent.
You've thrown up *once* today but are now chomping down on a bag of doritos? Non emergent
You've stubbed your toe, and want "some of that medicine that starts with a D" -- NO, NO, NO. Non emergent.

These are the type of pt's that should be billed in full for their care. Not their insurance.

Those with conditions that could mimic life threatening ones, but turn out not to be SHOULD be covered.

Generally, unless you are starting to look like a smurf - the ER is not the place for the cold or flu.

Seriously I would S&F you ALL DAY just for this post^^^!!!
Anyone who just can should just go visit their local ER and sit there for a couple of hours, observe and come back educated.

a reply to: justme2

Agreed. But what do you do? We plow on, help those we can and thank God someone came in anyway because we might have just saved their life.

Guy my husband works with volunteered to give blood at the mobile site my hospital sponsors. Found out he had only 30% kidney function and will have to go on dialysis and a transplant list. He would've likely died of kidney failure. If that one non-emergency saves one person in the end its worth it.

What irks me is the ER"s that treat a real emergency like it's nothing. I went in years ago to an ER on a gurney and went back to my vehicle with my husband the same way. Back spasms from a herniated disk. I begged for relief and got a handful of scripts.

a reply to: seasonal

This is just crazy. It could be a heart attack. You never know.

a reply to: seasonal

My daughter is an ER nurse the stories she tells me about what goes on at night time when she works.

They have names to the type of patients that comes in.

They have some that comes all the time, usually homeless, for food and a place to lie down that is clean, then they have the addicted to opioids those when come in already tells the nurses what they need, then is the ones that think the ER is their personal doctor, they come with minor complains and wants a full set of test to be done.

Then is the real emergencies, those are given first priority, over all of the above.

Yes many of those that comes to the ER never ever pay the bills because they don't have money to pay.

But been a public hospital or none profit hospital they have to tend to everybody regardless because sometimes one of those that comes with what look like a minor problem turns out to be a life or death situtaiton.

a reply to: JohnHutto06

If you want to be seen right away in the ER you scream chest pains, they will rush you in, but be aware because is a test that is done that tells if you are releasing the enzymes associated with a hart attack.

Yes medicine this days can pin point an emergency in most cases.

This year, Blue Cross got rid of the E.R. $250 co-pay, and replaced it a $1,000 penalty, in addition to the overall deductible.

Emergency rooms are charging HUGE amounts of money apparently.

a reply to: seasonal

another way to soak the middle class, we foot the bill for rich AND poor.