ACEP President Dr. Sandra Schneider recently responded to the blame the patient trend, "We are disturbed by reports coming from Massachusetts and South Carolina that suggest emergency patients are responsible for the high cost of health care. Emergency care amounts to only 3 percent of all health care spending each year in the United States. Focusing on emergency care as a source of waste in the health care system is counterproductive, as are efforts to keep a small subset of emergency patients out of the ER." To read more about this and other chapter-related information, visit our "Resources" tab.