Another Obamacare Myth: Long ER Lines

The lines of patients waiting to get in the ER's has been steadily increasing for decades. Long before healthcare reform came along. More about that in minute.

First off it's preposterous that anyone be taken seriously for claiming 'Obamacare' is to blame for mainly two reasons.


(1) Critics have repeatedly pointed out how few have signed up. Then flip around and blame long lines at the ER as if there were suddenly a huge influx of those who just became insured under 'Obamacare'. It's either one or the other. It can't be both at the same time.

(2) Obamacare just kicked in on January 1st (less then 3 weeks ago). Those critical of 'Obamacare' obviously never had the pleasure of visiting a ER in the past 10 or 20 years.

Let's take a quick look back in time.01/01/2001-"In fact, the average wait for emergency treatment nationwide is about two hours."
04/04/2002-"The American Hospital Association reported its national survey found that one in three emergency rooms are so crowded that ambulances are sometimes diverted to other hospitals."I was going to go through these every year from 2001 till now, but as you can see long waits and overcrowding has been a problem for over a decade. Certainly years long before Barack Obama even thought about campaigning to be President. This is another one of those nonsensical statements claiming "It's Obama's Fault".

The real reasons why patients are forced to wait in the ER(1) ER's are not set up to take the patients on a first come, first serve basis. Rather the ones needing the most medical attention (triage) get sent to the front of the line. This means if 10 other patients need immediate medical attention they will be seen before someone that doesn't, even if that person came in hours before they.

(2) The whole medical system has evolved over the years. At one time general practice family physicians would arrange for their patients to be checked in. They cannot do that anymore. Almost 100% of each and every check in comes through the ER.

(3) At one time family physicians would either come to the office or to a patient's home to provide urgent care for their patients after hours. This is not how it works today. Anyone needing to see their family physician after hours will always be told to go to the ER.

(4) Finally it's because of the kind of patients that end up in the ER. Hospitals are required to provide urgent treatment. Private physician practices are not. So where do you think everyone without insurance ends up? Indeed if there's been ever increasing lines at the ER these past several years it's not because people have insurance, but rather the lack of it.
It is possible the newly insured under the new healthcare insurance might minimally impact wait times. However I greatly doubt most will go to the ER for wellness checks. Especially knowing how long they have to wait. I tend to believe hardly anyone is going to go the ER unless they are sick. Mostly the same number as before, whether they were insured under 'Obamacare' or not. Maybe a increase of 7% tops like in Massachusetts when medical coverage was first expanded there in 2006.

While critics of the new healthcare law may have some legitimate gripes, long lines at the ER isn't one of them.