Larry Blanchard wrote:
On Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:42:58 -0400, J. Clarke wrote:

Joe Homeless walks into the emergency room to get four stitches and
he gets them for free, while I walk into the same emergency room and
get four stitches on the same table from the same doctor and get
charged 2500 bucks.

One step toward fixing the system would be a Constitutional amendment
restricting unfunded mandates--if the government says that you
_have_ to provide a good or service to someone who cannot reasonably
be expected to pay for it then the government must compensate you
for that good or service.

Need I point out that that solution STILL leaves you paying for Joe -
just via a different path :-).

I don't have a problem with paying for Joe, my problem is with the
government doing it in such a roundabout way and then using the result to
claim that medical costs are out of control.

As a matter of political strategy though it's genius.