I am also fully insured and I have never once heard of emergency rooms with an a...

cmiles74 · on March 25, 2023

ProPublica has a tool that will provide the average wait time for hospitals in your area.

https://projects.propublica.org/emergency/

Where I live, all in driving distance have an average wait time more than 2.5 hours.

oogali · on March 25, 2023

I've waited hours in NYC.

I've waited less than an hour in New Jersey and Connecticut.

When I still lived in NYC, I resolved that if I needed a hospital but I wasn't in extremely bad shape, I would drive an hour into an adjacent state's ER rather than wait in NYC.

nobodyandproud · on March 25, 2023

Call 911 and get an ambulance.

kevviiinn · on March 26, 2023

That's a good way to spend $6000

oogali · on March 26, 2023

It's about $500-1,000.

Coming in via an ambulance doesn't trigger some sort of re-prioritzation, if you're not suffering from something that is immediately life threatening.

In most NYC hospitals, you will end up in a secondary waiting area that lies just beyond the regular ER doors.

Good luck if it's a Saturday night.