What's Crazy in Healthcare

Community paramedical programs differ – but generally use one of two approaches.

© 2026 by Michael Fine

One of the things driving health care cost increases in the US is the way people use emergency rooms for routine medical care. Between 40 and 88 percent of all emergency room visits are for diseases and conditions that don’t require hospitalization – for colds and sore throats and simple sprains, headaches and back pain.

The cost difference is outrageous. A same-day visit to a primary care clinician runs between $100 and $170. The average cost for an emergency room visit is between $2400 and $2800. That difference accounts for billions of dollars of health care cost, which you and I pay for when we buy health insurance AND through the 1.45 percent deducted from every payroll check, every month. (That cost difference, multiplied by the 150 million ED visits every year in the US, is enough to buy primary care for all Americans, just sayin.)

Click here to read the rest of this article, originally published on What's Up Newport on July 25, 2026.