She was telling me stories that would make most of you sick regarding how people abuse the "system".
They have what they call "frequent flyers" which are people that show up on a regular basis. Not one of them ever pays anything "out of pocket" for the services because they have no insurance. Most have no medical emergencies.
One guy calls for an ambulance once a week. He has a breathing problem but there is no fluctuation that would warrant a trip to the doctor, let alone the emergency room. After taking the required precautions, that include chest x-rays, nebulizer, etc., he is fed and sent home. However, since he arrived by ambulance, he must be taken home by a taxi at the hospital's expense.
A woman walked in complaining of stomach pain. After many tests, she says that Percocet will help her feel better. The records show that the hospital issued her a three month supply just 27 days earlier, free of charge because she could not afford it. But the lab analysis did not show any Percocet in her system.
A couple arrived to the ER on a motorcycle at around 10 pm on a recent cold evening. The woman complained of a cough which she certainly had. The hospital went through the required steps of tests, x-rays, etc. The couple were resting in an ER room (not admitted to the upper floors) and the woman was given a warm blanket. After a while, she rang the bell and demanded a warm blanket and pillow for her man who was sitting in a chair next to her bed with his legs propped up and watching TV. Each of them would make separate trips outside to smoke a cigarette every 30 minutes or so (smoking is not permitted on the campus) and request a fresh new warm blanket afterwards. After 3 or so hours, they demanded to be fed. After sleeping for several hours, they got up and left around 9 am without going through any checkout process.
There were many more stories like this. Not one of these people pay anything for this service whether it be insurance premiums, co-payments, or service costs. The hospital is "required" to provide a certain level of care, even when they know they are being scammed. The cost for each individual case is much smaller than a lawsuit that would ensue if they did not deliver the care when they should have. But when you add all of these individual incidents up, the cost is astronomical. We are all paying for this.
