Lupus Never Looked So Good

I would have never expected this to be a problem, but apparently it is.  Recently, I was at work at a local college and a young lady next to me coughed up blood, turned extremely pale and then passed out into my lap.  I, as a reflex, picked up my phone and dialed 911.  As I was explaining the situation to dispatch, a superior came up to me and started to scream and holler at me, explaining that I should not have called 911, because we do not know if the young lady in question has health insurance or not.  She explained (as I tried to ignore her and continue my conversation with dispatch) that we should call Campus Security first, to evaluate if the problem is extreme enough to warrant an ambulance. 

No.  No.  The girl had passed out.  She could not vouch for herself and a decision had to be made.  While I was being argued with, dispatch was taking longer to send help.  This is not acceptable.  This is a symptom of our messed up health care situation in America.  Right now, people are so paranoid about whether or not someone else (especially younger people) has health insurance that they are putting lives at stake by not calling for help immediately. 

Some of my non-US readers might have no Gorram clue what this means.  And for that I am envious of you. 

So here’s the thing.  In the US, currently, if someone is brought to the ER, they will get the care they need to make sure that an emergency is not occurring (or take steps to correct one if it is).  This is the MOST IMPORTANT THING if you think someone is having an emergency.  Call 911.  If later on, after they are stable, it turns out that they have no (or poor quality) health insurance, the financial aide department at the hospital will help them take care of it.  In many cases, it will be cheaper for a person with no insurance to get emergency care than it would be for them to get preventative care (while costing the state much, MUCH more…but that’s another story). 

The point?  If you see someone suffering and you feel they might need emergency care, don’t you dare hesitate or try to rationalize waiting and seeing what happens.