[: Uhh, excuse me Doc, but here in the usa it's illegal for a hospital to turn anyone away if they need medical attention.]
True for Public Hospitals. I have been turned away (transferered) from private hospitals "here in the usa" - it all depends on just how extensive the emergancy is deemed to be (and your insurance policy) (mainly the latter). If you can survive the length of time it takes an ambulance to get you from a private hospital to a public facility - off you go (off i went).
[There are many many poor people in Oakland who have had their lives saved from gunshot, overdose knifings you name it at Highland Hospital gratis the tax-payer. I pay premiums for Kaiser and I can guarantee you that surgery for one gunshot costs more then two years of resources spent on the care that I receive. In other words, there is not necessarily the direct correlation between health care received and wealth accumulated that you assert.]
There are always exceptions - but taken in the aggregate I think it holds.
[: Here's a question for you. From which quintile does nearly half of all income tax receipts come from?]
I presume the highest. So?
