In South Florida the problem is too many illegal immigrants. I went to the ER in Naples, Florida, thinking I was having a heart attack, at 7:00 in the evening. I have great health insurance. My husband drove me and I did see a triage nurse within 15 minutes or so. I was told my vitals were OK and to wait. In the next 3 hours I watched as endless illegals and their children came in for free cold and flu treatment. I knew the kids looked upon the place as their family doctors office as thry skipped around, changed the TV, etc. Finally, at 11:00 we left, because we were told it would be an all night wait. I could see my own doctor in the morning. I was charged $80 for seeing a triage nurse.

Worse yet, a friend who is dying of stomach cancer was taken by ambulance to a Ft Lauderdale hospital on a weekend, in intense pain. She also has health insurance but waited 10 hours to see a doctor

I know Bush. Obama, and McCain love illegals but the reality is they are destroying our ER's. The Cleveland Clinic in Naples had to close several years ago (a brand new hospital) because all the illegals thought it was a free clinic.

Most illegals don't come to the ER. Sorry to burst your bubble, but in the four hospitals I have worked in, the majority of the "non-emergent" visitors in ER are American. It is a shame you focus on the single family in the waiting room with darker skin than you. Did you check thier ID? How do you know they are illegal? Or did you just ASSume?

ITALIANADA

Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but illegal immigrants make up a large percentage of the people that use the ER as a clinic. Of course, that certainly depends on what area of the country you work in. In my experience states such as, Alabama, Texas, Florida, Arizona and California have very large populations of illegal immigrants that use the ER as a primary care clinic. However, when I was working in places such as Minnesota, Pennsylvania or Missouri this was much less common.

When we consistently get people giving false social security numbers its usually the case that we are dealing with illegal immigrants. It may surprise you, but we know something is amiss when the twenty-something hispanic woman gives us a SSN for an eighty-something grandpa.

I'm sure that working in FOUR hospitals may seem like a wealth of experience to you. But try to think outside of your own little world before you start playing the race card.

Funny, the Hospital staff do not have the access to check whether or not the social security number is valid. HIPPA prevents us from doing so. You are basing your opinion on your assumptions as you have no idea whether or not the patient is legal. We are not the immigration department and while we do ask for ID to verify that the patient we see is actually that person, we do it to prevent identity theft and fraud- there is no legal way for us to verify the social security number. Since I worked in California first, I know that illegal immigrants are usually too afraid to seek health care. Not a bubble- just a fact. You obviously do not work in the health care setting.

Its not all that hard to pick out wich hispanics are new to the country or not.

I work in an ER in charlotte, and hispanics that "seem" to be illigal are in our ER every day and night, and not just one family, but to the point where we need to have a translator on staff 24 hours a day 7 days a week to help speed up the care of these people instead of taking a longer time using a phone translator.

It is true that we cant check for thier status in this country, but most times they will come right out and say they are new here.

But saying that they dont come to the ER is just plain wrong. Maby where you are at there may not be alot of them, but in the south they make up a huge part of the ER population.

ITALIANADA

Yes, you got me I don't work in healthcare; I'm just making things up as I go along.

I hate to put a strain on your intellect, but again I must ask you to think outside of your own little world. This may be quite shocking, but some facilities use patients' SSNs for filing medical records.

So when a nurse comes to me and explains that the hispanic man in bed 3 is giving the SSN of an elderly woman already on file in the system, it becomes obvious that something is wrong. Sure a person may lie for other reasons. But in the previous hospitals I've worked with large populations of illegal immigrants nearby, odds favor the fact that they are illegals, pure and simple.

And by this you know he is illegal? How do you know he just doesn't want to get the bill? I am not saying that illegal immigrants never come into the ER, I am just saying that I more Americans come in and give false information than I do foreign patients giving false information. If we had a reasonable medical system to deal with the uninsured and underinsured then most of these people, legal or not, would go to the correct facility.

I actually work in an ER in southern california who see's a 90 percent hispanic population,,,some illegal,,,some not.....Of the 90 percent,,,about only 10 percent have private medical insurance,,,the rest have medi-cal or are non funded....

What needs to be understood is illegal or not,,,hispanic or not,,,,the medi-cal system IS in itself,,,it's own problem.....The reason that the majority of those in my area use it is because it's an easy fix to those who are suffering with lower incomes....I do believe culture may play a part in the break down of the system.....Having multiple children beyond one's means is a good example....

I think what generally happens is the working middle class not only has to work hard AND provide their own health insurance,,,but also has to 'provide' for those that otherwise choose not to contribute to the current socioeconomic situation....This gets frustrating...

I'm not saying that it's only the hispanic population that has this mentality,,,,but it's a real problem in the area that I work in...

You're an idiot if you think that illegals don't make up a large population of the ER!! They are easy to pick out. Like the previous poster said, many admit to just arriving in the country. They claim they don't speak english, yet they whip out their welfare healthcare card like it was a platnium Visa card. They are ruining our country.