Reference no: EM131424618

After he gets out of jail, Dan goes and talks to Mica (no relation to anyone we know) about grading problem sets. He ends up with a serious head wound and rushes to the Sussex County hospital. He has no money and no insurance, but state law requires that he be treated. No other patient is there when he enters, and no one arrives before he leaves. The physicians and staff are salaried and are there no matter how many people show up. The daily payroll for the emergency room is $72,000, and Dan is there for about an hour. They patch him up real well, and use bandages, medicines, and painkillers that cost the hospital about $30. In fact, Teresa (no relation to anyone we know) also talked to Mica about grading problem sets and ended up with same kind of head wound that Dan suffered. She also rushed to the hospital, but when she got there she had to wait because everyone was taking care of Dan. She was in great pain. Later she said, “Waiting was horrible. I would have been willing to pay $500 to avoid that wait.” Treating Teresa took the same amount of staff time as treating Dan, and used the same sort of bandages, medicines and painkillers. No one else came into the emergency room that night. Like Dan, Teresa had no money to pay the hospital and no insurance. What was the social cost of Teresa’s visit to the hospital?