Research Paper on:
Who Should Pay for Emergency Care?

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
try, accepting patients without insurance in an emergency, but what results is high inflation in the medical sector with little relief for either patients, hospitals or physician owned practices. In  other words, due to the lack of a practical delivery system, everyone pays the price. While there are many abuses of the health care system, inclusive of immigrants coming  to America for free health care, perhaps the most expensive problem is the use of the emergency room. Many people, who cannot afford health insurance or doctors fees end up  in emergency rooms. Why? Although emergency rooms cost more, patients cannot be turned away in a life or death situation. And even undocumented immigrants, due to state and federal laws,  are eligible for medical care if they are pregnant, over the age of 65, or in need of emergent treatment (Leslie, 2000). Because emergency care must be provided, regardless  of a patients financial condition or even their citizenship status, a way to pay for it must be created. Today, the cost of emergency room care is absorbed by taxpayer  funded hospitals coupled with other patients input via insurance plans or higher bills (Silverstein, 1994). While patients do not pay for such costs directly, they do in an indirect way.  The Clinton health care plan did address this issue. The proposal encompassed a plan where expenses would be shared by a larger group of premium payers so costs would drop,  at least theoretically (Silverstein, 1994).In this paradigm, coverage would be purchased through health care alliances which would vary by geographic area (1994). The Clinton plan was never realized, but there  are other ideas in the works. Managed health care reform bills, on the table in recent times, address how emergency care is paid for and who makes the final decisions