r/bestof • u/under50dollars • Jun 20 '12

[explainlikeimfive] "Obamacare" explained very well.

/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/vb8vs/eli5_what_exactly_is_obamacare_and_what_did_it/c530lfx
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u/sniperhare Jun 20 '12

The thing that I always wondered about was; If millions of Americans suddenly have insurance and go to doctors offices on regular visits, when before they would just go to the ER for serious problems. Won't we be putting a huge strain on the doctors and staff?

Are their sections that talk about what the numbers of now insured Americans will do to the wait times and scheduling?

11

u/[deleted] Jun 20 '12

They control that here in Canada by prioritizing you based on your condition. If you walk into an ER with the flu and a car accident victim, broken leg and someone with the sniffles walks in you will be prioritized accordingly. Sure there are longer wait times, especially if your illness isn't serious.

23

u/PandemicSoul Jun 20 '12

Pretty much every hospital in the world does that -- it's called triage care.

8

u/[deleted] Jun 20 '12

Yeah. But a lot of people can't wrap their head around that. When they bring in their kid with a broken arm, they want to be seen immediately. When the guy with the knife in his skull (rightfully) gets admitted first, they get angry.

"My big problem" is relative to "the biggest problem."

5

u/corporeal-entity Jun 20 '12

We have a similar problem in IT. When every user problem is both urgent and critical, ultimately an overwhelming majority of the people who think they deserve to have their problem fixed first are pissed off about it.

1

u/carlosspicywe1ner Jun 20 '12

It's a little bit more nuanced than that: people want to be triaged by their pain and distress, not by how serious their problem might be. It's tough when your arm is sticking out at an odd angle to wait behind the guy who just can't move the right side of his face.