Even with the expanded coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act, there are still millions of Americans who would face several financial hardship were they to go to the E.R. with a suspected case of Ebola.
If the United States government is willing to spend $600m to combat Ebola in West Africa, it is surely within the interest of the United States, with the best health care system in the world, to remove any financial barrier to people seeking treatment in the United States.
Further, the CDC should make clear to the American people what the systems of Ebola are, and what criteria would qualify someone for covered care in the nearest E.R.
We cannot allow this epidemic to spread in the United States due to ignorance of the symptoms or an inability to pay for treatment.