On Friday July 20, the Wall Street Journal ran an article about automobile congestion in cities. The article described the solution in London - charge a �congestion fee�. Within the congestion zone and during business hours, everyone who drives a car (except people who live in the zone) is charged a fee. The charge is around $10. The fine for not paying the charge is about $100. So what? I mean, what does this have to do with health care? Well maybe nothing, but check this out:
The zone was recently expanded to include one of London�s largest hospitals, Chelsea & Westminster. And what happened? �Suddenly, the hospital�s emergency room was busiest just after 6 p.m. � when the zone stops operating � instead of at 4 p.m.� The chief executive of the hospital remarked that �maybe the ER patients are not as urgent as they thought they were.�
The article further reports that �People who can prove they drove through the zone for a genuine medical emergency can get a refund but that doesn�t include women in labor� to which a woman who recently had a baby at this hospital and paid the fine for driving there commented: �it wasn�t worth contesting because they really do not care.�
Stiff upper lip, you blokes. See, medical care in the sceptered isle is still free.
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