Editorial: Expand health care to keep ER for true emergencies
Express-News Editorial Board
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Emergency room care is not cheap.
ERs provide some of the most expensive medical care available in our community, and rightly so. Having the best facilities, equipment and medical staff available to treat heart attacks, strokes and serious injuries can be a matter of life or death.
Yet for generations, many people without insurance, who forgo preventive care and allow minor medical issues to become serious health concerns, have used the emergency room for routine medical care. Broke and with no place else to go, they view it as their only option.
Public hospital board approves boost in funds to Bexar County safety net program
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San Antonio Fire Department personnel respond to a call about a sick person at Haven for Hope shelter for the homeless in April just as the coronavirus was starting to spread in the community. The homeless and mentally ill account for a large part of emergency health care costs that could be reduced with better preventive and early diversion programs.Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News
University Health officials have approved spending an extra $300,000 annually to help reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and provide better access to health care for people who are homeless or mentally ill.