A growing number of hospitals are requiring emergency room patients with non-emergency medical problems to pay upfront for their services, according to a report from Kaiser Health News.

Hospitals say this helps reduce ER waiting times and prevent unnecessary bad debt.  Critics believe that once patients come to the hospital, they should not be turned away if they cannot afford the upfront payment.

While for-profit hospitals appear to be leading the way in using this approach, some non-profit hospitals are using it as well.

Learn more about this latest trend in hospital ER practice in this Kaiser Health News report.

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