I have talked about this but haven't posted it...

A huge expense that paying Americans are covering are the medical expenses of people who go to emergency rooms for things that aren't emergencies and then have no money to pay for the bills they have run up. The costs become exhorbitant and if there is no insurance, which is typical, the public has to cover it.
Here is a better idea. (When my kids were young and we had no insurance we used to go to a clinic and paid on a sliding scale according to what we earned.) Why not have clinics opened, maybe in an annex of the emergency rooms, where non-emergency patients could go. This should not be a free-clinic, but payable on a sliding scale. Some won't be earning any money, but most earn something.
I'm all for helping others, but we all need to do what we can to support ourseves, too.
What do you think?