Quote:In defense of the ACA, this is what they were trying to address by requiring all Americans to be insured:  that people would use insurance for preventative care - say removing a stone-infested gall bladder involving an easy outpatient procedure -instead of going to the emergency room with a burst gall bladder and requiring 3 weeks in an ICU.

 

Which said uninsured patient would then skip paying, driving insurance up for the rest of us.

 

You want to know why that emergency room pill costs so much?  Because the uninsured can't afford to pay their emergency room bills.  Thus, they charge the insured enough to cover the bill, and most of the time, create a healthy albeit modest profit.

 

While that makes sense to most of us, there are newly insured folks who still won't be seen for preventative care because that's money (co-pays, lab tests, unpaid time from work to go to appointments, etc.) out of their pocket and possible job loss if their employer frowns on taking time off for such things. So they still end up in the ER and while their insurance will help knock down some of the cost, it's still expensive. And not too many employers can or will say much if you've been in the ER so there's less of a chance of getting fired or getting negative marks in your personnel file. 

 

So in a way, that shiny new insurance doesn't really do much for folks who aren't used to having it. They'll stay with their mindset because that's what they're used to. 

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