Reply #161: Three hour waits and more are common for uninsured in the US

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I had a friend who was out of work and her COBRA had expired--i.e. the expensive insurance extension that one can get with unemployment. A cut on her finger became infected and wasn't responding to home treatments, and she couldn't afford to pay out of pocket. In Chicago, this means going to Cook County Hospital for care on a sliding scale. She waited six hours for someone to look at her, while severely ill and injured people without insurance were being treated.