I hope not, but have you been in an actual emergency room in a city lately? People with fevers and cuts, bumps on the head etc... few real emergencies... it is the "doctor's office of choice" for so many.
"...have you been in an actual emergency room in a city lately?"
In my case, yup. The really bad ones came in Air Life and we didn't see them - just heard the choppers. The lady who was vomiting uncontrollably and me with my massively dislocated shoulder went to 1 & 2 in line when we arrived.
Everyone else was ambulatory and looked fine to me.
Financially, ER's would be better off paying an MD to sit at the door and do triage for people walking in. Anything other than a non-emergency gets turned away, maybe with a list of urgen cares or MD's in the area that they could see. Anyone using the old 'ambulance' trick to get seen for a non-emrgency will be charged full cash price for the ambulance ride and ER care, with a paymetn plan worked out before they can be released if they say they can't pay. The problem is out of hand and needs to be dealt with in a strict sense. There are way to many losers, freeloaders and immigrants abusing the system.
I work in the health care field, and it seems that people that get 'free' health care (welfare programs, ER walk-ins, etc..) look upon health care as a form of entertainment. They may not have money to go out to eat or a movie, by-god, they can go to the doctor for free, so why not? I can't remember the last time I went to the doctor (since I actually have to pay), but I see people on welfare going at least once a week for everything and anything. they so much as sneeze and they go running in for an antibiotic (again- free to them, but not the taxpayers!). I mean, who goes to the doctor once a week, sometimes more? We're talking perfectly health-looking, prime of life people!