One of the more laughable oddities of the GOP's response to health care reform and lack of insurance coverage by many in the US, was the idea that, no, everyone in the US can get medical care if critically necessary by going to the emergency room, since US law requires them to treat anyone who shows up.
It's a stupid argument, since ER care is much more expensive than normal outpatient treatment, and does little or nothing for most preventive and routine care, which increases the likelihood of a more expensive illness or condition down the road. The ER is going to treat a heart attack, but isn't going to help you with your high blood pressure, for example. But it still got plenty of play amongst the GOP pols, including (of course) George W. Bush, and, for critical care the ER has been a last resort for many of the poor.
Which makes Bryan Fischer, stalwart arch-Christian and spokesman for the American Family Association, all the more zany for throwing out this particular zinger: "To get health care costs under control: repeal the law that requires emergency rooms to treat everybody who shows up."
That's marvelous, Bryan. And what about those who still can't afford medical care? I suppose they could just die in the streets, Bryan. That will incur a certain civic cost of cleaning up the bodies (though I hear buzzards are good at that), but at least it will get health care costs under control. Which, as we all know, was Jesus' Number One Health Care Policy Concern (http://bit.ly/bsTbjV).
Dolt. #ddtb
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To get health care costs under control: repeal the law that requires emergency rooms to treat everybody who shows up.
Why do fiscal conservatives always assume that lowered costs will be passed on as savings to consumers rather than pocketed as increased profits? Perhaps I am cynical, but that attitude seems unreasonable to me.
@Avo – In theory (theory, mind you), if costs are lowered then you have to reduce your prices in order to stay competitive.
Let me just picture this for a moment. Guy shows up at the ER, has trouble speaking, can’t keep his balance, and he has a severe headache that isn’t like any headache he’s ever had before. Time passes while a wallet biopsy is done, and he doesn’t have insurance. He and his wife are in hard straits financially and they’re on the verge of losing the house, so considerable time is invested in convincing them to sign the consent form despite the base cost of an ER visit being enough to cause them to miss the next two mortgage payments.
Of course with a stroke, time lost is brain lost, so he is now permanently disabled. And soon, homeless.
I’m sure that’s what Jesus would want. Or Ayn Rand… I always get those two mixed up.
@George – Well, as you know, there are plenty of people who somehow claim to follow both of them faithfully.
Bryan Fischer (who feels free to criticize soldiers who risk their lives for our country even though he has never worn a uniform) has been listening to The Sermon on the Mall, rather than The Sermon on the Mount.
More details here: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-let-hosptials-refuse-treatment-emergency-room-patients
To which I'll add two comments (since Fischer's statements beyond his brief tweet are expanded):
1. I would love to see a world in which private charity could effectively replace government programs to care for the poor and indigent. We are not, unfortunately, in that world.
2. Fischer has clearly never gone to an emergency room, or at least not gone in for anything other than a dire emergency. Otherwise, he would realize the suggestion that people willingly go there for medical care as a way of fobbing off their lazy medical needs on society is gut-wrenchingly laughable.
Dolt.