Toastmaster Tuesdays - The High Cost of an ER Visit

Sept 20, 2016

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(This was project 4 of the Competent Communications Manual. It won best speech of the night)

Project 4: The High Cost of an ER Visit

 

It is no secret that the cost of an emergency room visit can be very high, astronomical at times. A recent study conducted from 2006 to 2008 showed that the average cost of an ER visit is $1,233 but costs on the high end can be $17,000 for a headache and $24,000 for a sprain. I don’t know about you but thinking about those numbers gives me a headache…whoops there goes another 17 grand. For the average person, a $1200 bill can be a setback, but many have little choice but to use it. Tonight I will not be talking much about the high cost of medical services, though yes it is a big concern, but I will actually be talking about homelessness.  I would like to talk about why homeless people use more medical services, explain how we can provide housing for the homeless, and talk about why providing housing will actually save money.

Homeless people are much more likely to use hospital services than the average person. One hospital reported that 225 homeless people had visited the ER for a combined total of over 2100 times in a one year span, roughly 10 visits per person per year. Without adequate shelter, homeless people are much more prone to infections, violence, abuse, and extreme weather. Small cuts can turn into large infections, repeated exposure to violence and abuse can lead to prolong recovery periods, and extreme weather can lead to permanent damage. Often times a homeless person would get picked up by an ambulance when they are on the brink, taken to the hospital where they are patched up, and then discharged into the streets where they are susceptible to the exact same risks again. The ER becomes a revolving door, taking in patients only when their conditions have gotten to a critical status, spend thousands to patch them up, only to kick them out then have them return a little while after with the same conditions. While many of us may dread spending a night in the ER, many homeless people will pick a safe night in the ER over spending a night in the cold or in the streets.

A solution to homeless people using the ER like an Airbnb would be to build them housing. You may be thinking that we already have housing for homeless people, but often times the shelters are temporary solutions to a very long term problem. Instead we can provide homeless people with tiny houses, houses that they can call their own. Tiny houses are 100-200 square feet homes that are durable. They will keep the person off the street reducing the risk of infections, shelter the person from others, and protect them from extreme weather.. They will have a bed, electricity, and indoor plumbing; luxuries that many currently have no access to. Because of their small sizes, cities can house many homeless people in areas that would otherwise not be utilized such as an abandoned lot. It is much easier to establish a solid foundation once the basic necessity of housing is accounted for. Once a homeless person is able to get on their feet, able to hold steady employment, then they can start paying their own mortgage on their tiny home, and eventually own it. Employment that gets a homeless person to the point where they can pay their own mortgage is what will make this solution sustainable.

Many people may hesitate at the thought of paying to house homeless people. But they often forget that they are already paying to house homeless people. Homeless people typically cannot afford one night’s stay in an ER, meaning that the ER does not get paid for those services. Those services are offset by charging everyone else more. So even if you are not trying to pay for someone else’s housing, you ultimately are if they enter the ER. Tiny homes are also very cheap to construct, costing no more than $10000 or as a 30 year mortgage would be less than $50 a month, meaning you can house a homeless person for 2 years for the cost of a single ER visit. Also by providing housing, homeless people are less likely to end up sleeping in parks and commercial areas where they can negatively affect businesses meaning the community as a whole would benefit as well.

We know that homeless people are more likely than the average person to utilize expensive medical care such as the emergency room visits. Providing homeless people with tiny houses that they can eventually own will provide them a sense of permanence and be much more cost effective. Ultimately, permanent housing allows homeless people a chance to pick themselves up, to have a safe place to go at night, a place to shower and use the restroom, and to reach gainful employment. Because once we take homelessness away from homeless people, then what we are left with… are people.