An E.R. Doctor turns that slimy, creepy, weasel-y, skeevy little tw*t JD Vance into mincemeat. [View all]

[Miles Archer]

I'm an ER doctor. JD Vance's claims about immigrants and wait times are just wrong.
Emergency medicine has a moral and legal commitment: treat anyone, anywhere, anytime.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/jd-vance-emergency-room-immigrant-health-care-rcna235946

Oct. 7, 2025, 2:08 PM EDT
By Dr. Owais Durrani, emergency medicine physician in Houston, TX

“If you’re an American citizen and you’ve been to the hospital in the last few years, you’ve probably noticed that wait times are especially large and very often somebody who’s there in the ER is an illegal alien,” Vice President JD Vance said. “Why do those people get health care benefits at hospitals paid for by American citizens?” When press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked whether ERs should check immigration status before treatment, she dodged. “That’s probably not a question for me to answer,” she told reporters. That’s a question for health care professionals and legal experts to answer.”

Well, I am a health care professional. My career has been spent in rooms that do not close. Emergency medicine has a standing pledge: treat anyone, anywhere, anytime, 24/7, 365. That is not just a moral commitment. It is the law.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires emergency departments to screen and stabilize every person who arrives, regardless of insurance, income or immigration status. It is one of the quiet triumphs of American health policy because it reflects a simple truth: A decent country does not leave people bleeding on the curb. EMTALA does not permit immigration checks at the threshold. In spirit and in practice, neither should our leaders.

Federal law already excludes undocumented immigrants from Medicaid, Medicare and Affordable Care Act plans and subsidies. EMTALA, on the other hand, is not a benefit. It is a safety standard. Requiring emergency departments to screen and stabilize every patient first — and forbidding any delay in care due to questions about coverage or ability to pay — ensures every human gets the medical treatment they need. The operating principle of emergency medicine is straightforward: Treat first, stabilize now, figure out payment later.