Who's packing ERs? Not the uninsured or illegal immigrants - Polidicks

[url]http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64I78X20100520[/url] [release][b](Reuters) - One in five people in the United States visit an emergency room every year, and most of them have health insurance of some kind, according to a U.S. government survey released on Wednesday.[/b] The survey contradicts a common perception that emergency rooms are packed with uninsured people and illegal immigrants. It also rejects some claims that people are using the emergency department for routine care -- just 10 percent of visits were for non-urgent causes. "In 2007, approximately one in five persons in the U.S. population had one or more emergency department visits in a 12-month period," the report from the National Center for Health Statistics reads. "Among the under-65 population, the uninsured were no more likely than the insured to have had at least one emergency department visit in a 12-month period." Tamyra Carroll Garcia and colleagues at the center used two large national surveys of healthcare use in 2007 for their study. "Since 1996, demand for emergency services in the United States has been rising," they wrote. "While the number of emergency departments (EDs) across the country has decreased, the number of ED visits has increased. As a result, EDs are experiencing higher patient volume and overcrowding, and patients seeking care are experiencing longer wait times," they added. "As national health care costs continue to rise and policymakers become increasingly interested in ways to make the health care system more efficient, it is important to understand the characteristics of those individuals who use EDs -- often in place of other sources of ambulatory care." They found that the more income people had, the less likely they were to ever visit an emergency room. People over 75 and blacks were the most likely to visit emergency rooms. The American College of Emergency Physicians published a survey this month showing that 61 percent of emergency doctors surveyed believe U.S. healthcare reform will send even more people to emergency departments. Only 1 percent of the 1,800 doctors surveyed thought visits would decrease. And 47 percent said the reforms signed into law in March would worsen overcrowding in emergency rooms. "It's important to note the report finds that having a usual source of medical care, such as a primary care provider, does not affect the number of times people under age 65 visit the emergency department," Dr. Angela Gardner, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, said of Wednesday's report.[/release] :ms:

So whats the problem here?

Now we just need to figure out if they be taking our jurbs.

[QUOTE=ZakkShock;22060798]So whats the problem here?[/QUOTE] It shuts people up screaming that uninsured and illegal immigrants are stealing precious hard working red blooded americans places.

Well, I'm pleased by this study.

[quote]People over 75 and [b]blacks [/b]were the most likely to visit emergency rooms.[/quote] Why exactly did they need to mention that? :raise:

Fucking emergencies packing our ERs, deport them at once

My dumbass Congressman tried to make the argument to me that uninsured people flood the ER and don't pay for it. :colbert: [editline]03:17PM[/editline] Which obviously means we should give up our freedom to choose whether or not we want to have insurance.

Ummm maybe because the illegals don't want to get deported? My father is a Chicago fireman, and he's seen it countless times. Mexicans (I'm not trying to be racist here, but it's true) usually don't want to get into the ambulance. He's seen people who have been stabbed try to get away. As for the uninsured? Maybe they don't want to rack up huge debts with the hospitals?

[QUOTE=Callius;22068319]Why exactly did they need to mention that? :raise:[/QUOTE] Journalism.

[QUOTE=Callius;22068319]Why exactly did they need to mention that? :raise:[/QUOTE] Because it's true?

[QUOTE=Callius;22068319]Why exactly did they need to mention that? :raise:[/QUOTE] Because the study would be so much more reputable if they just omitted a major statistic in order to seem more politically correct, right?

[QUOTE=Callius;22068319]Why exactly did they need to mention that? :raise:[/QUOTE] Because we can't hate the old people.

That doesn't mean they don't go to the ER

[QUOTE=Callius;22068319]Why exactly did they need to mention that? :raise:[/QUOTE] Because blacks were the most likely to visit emergency rooms. Jesus christ, not everything is racist. :downs:

Well duh. One emergency room visit costs $1000, and an ambulance ride costs $50. I've seen friends who did all they could [i]not[/i] to go to an emergency room because they were uninsured.

[QUOTE=Callius;22068319]Why exactly did they need to mention that? :raise:[/QUOTE] Because it's a fact? Not everyone who mentions race is a bigot.

[QUOTE=Callius;22068319]Why exactly did they need to mention that? :raise:[/QUOTE] Because it's a statistic?

[QUOTE=lulzbocks;22068738]Ummm maybe because the illegals don't want to get deported? My father is a Chicago fireman, and he's seen it countless times. Mexicans (I'm not trying to be racist here, but it's true) usually don't want to get into the ambulance. He's seen people who have been stabbed try to get away. As for the uninsured? Maybe they don't want to rack up huge debts with the hospitals?[/QUOTE] If I wasn't insured I wouldn't want to ride in an ambulance either... over a thousand dollar cab ride right there

[QUOTE=yawmwen;22076785]Well duh. One emergency room visit costs $1000, and an ambulance ride costs $50. I've seen friends who did all they could [i]not[/i] to go to an emergency room because they were uninsured.[/QUOTE] Seriously? Holy shit, in Britain people go to hospital if they're injured. [editline]09:52AM[/editline] I'm glad I don't live in your backwards dump of a country.

[QUOTE=Sh33p;22078770]Seriously? Holy shit, in Britain people go to hospital if they're injured. [editline]09:52AM[/editline] I'm glad I don't live in your backwards dump of a country.[/QUOTE] Yeah our healthcare system is pretty shitty.

[QUOTE=Sh33p;22078770]Seriously? Holy shit, in Britain people go to hospital if they're injured. [editline]09:52AM[/editline] I'm glad I don't live in your backwards dump of a country.[/QUOTE] Uh, it's pretty much unanimous that all Facepunchers want a universal healthcare system for the U.S. You're just being insulting now.

[QUOTE=yawmwen;22076785]Well duh. One emergency room visit costs $1000, and an ambulance ride costs $50. I've seen friends who did all they could [i]not[/i] to go to an emergency room because they were uninsured.[/QUOTE] 50 dollars? Where the hell do you live that it's so cheap?