The recession is effecting people’s ability to pay for health care and causing them to turn to the emergency room for their medical needs. Why? Federal law prohibits an E.R. from rejecting patients based on their ability to pay for their health care. And it will likely get worse.
According to a U.S. Institute of Medicine report released on Feb. 24th, more Americans will lose their health insurance as the economy weakens, health care becomes more expensive and fewer employers offer medical coverage. The institute also said that safety-net services such as medical emergency rooms cannot be relied upon to meet the needs of those with health insurance. Without proper medical care resources, people tend to put off regular medical visits.
Studies show that people without medical insurance wait longer to get important medical care, running up a larger health bill in the end. Medical doctors are worried that patients will soon be dealing with a hospitals ability to deliver reasonable medical care and reasonable customer service as the E.R. becomes more crowded.
