Originally Posted by WhiplashDug

well - it depends what you are waiting for too - dont ya think? all ER visits are not equal.

And in the US a LARGE part of the ER traffic is uninsured. Since it is illegal for hospitals to turn away patients - people without insurance use the ER system to get seen if they are sick. If you removed those patients from the equation, the wait times in the US would be drastically lower than they are already.

Yes, the US system is flawed, but more so by the Legal profession driving up the costs of health care in the courts. In some states, certain specialties can no longer afford to practice because their insurance premiums are so high. There was a time in America when people were able to just pay cash at the doctor for their medical needs. Not any more.