Actually it is a very big deal to government employees as well as all of the co tractors and other agencies that still need governme t assistance toleverage the millions of dollars in private funds they need to survive. Government was never the problem as Reagan suggested. It is more that most Americans have little understanding of what responsibilies fall on the government nor do they full grasp what life would be like without the services they provide. As we move toward a country with little interest in understanding the functions of the public sector, there will be less understanding of why the middle class is hollowed out, soon to disappear. I feel for our grandchildren as they will not have the life we would like but rather a world of little choice and few opportunities.

First of all people are only guaranteed treatment in an emergency room regardless of the ability to pay, if it is, in fact, an emergency. This guarantee is protected under the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA).

Second of all when people use emergency rooms they do not get treatment for free. Why this fallacy persists I have no idea.

Why emergency rooms don't close the health care gap
That's the second and perhaps more misunderstood part of this emergency department misconception. The costs of treatment in the emergency room are not quickly dismissed or written off. You'll get that emergent care, but you'll also be charged for it.

Above excerpted from:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/07/opinion/carroll-emergency-rooms

Here's another link:

http://www.barackobama.com/truth-team/entry/romney-believes-uninsured-americans-can-just-get-health-care-through-emerge/

Emergency room care is not free: Hospitals still bill a patient for care that is not strictly an emergency. In 2011, about 80,000 patients left certain hospitals without treatment after learning they’d have to pay $150 upfront “because they did not have a true emergency.” While insured patients pay their normal co-payment and deductible upfront, the uninsured can face fees “as high as $350.” And hospitals are free to aggressively bill patients for any care they do provide, placing liens on income and driving families into bankruptcy.

I understand your thinking and even agree with some of it. but let me tell you an experience I had. I was a street copper in a high crime area in the early 70s, when the Supreme Court Put a Halt to All Executions for a period of time. Almost from the day of the ruling, almost EVERY ARMED ROBBERY we responded on also involved the victim being shot even if he offered no resistance to the robbery...They just knew they would get no needle for Murder at that point so why not take the witness out. I know a lot of people are not for the death penalty, and I respect that, but it sure enlightened me as to it be a deterrent, because prior to that I was unsure.

First of all....His reaction was to threats of, and actual violence...and second of all....I see no one on this thread saying that innocent people should be treated as criminals, and certainly no one has suggested harrassment. My rule of thumb as a cop was to treat EVERYONE, how I wanted to or expected to be treated...Initially...Then, if they chose to challenge me or my authority in a given situation, I would escalate as appropriate.....Thugs tend to push their boundaries and test the system...when they do this they have to be given the parameters in which to adhere. No one wants to go around and scare or intimidate anyone that doesn't deserve it. Unless you have walked a mile in the shoes of a police officer, you have no idea how intense it gets on the street...and you naively think aggressive responses are never in order.