LOS ANGELES, Calif.,—Eight Southern California hospitals have joined a fee-based program that enables participants to be treated within 15 minutes.
Under the QuickER program, participants pay $14.99 to $24.99 to avoid sometimes long waits to be seen.
"It does not interfere with treating true emergencies on a priority basis; and charging a modest fee discourages tampering," Jim Lott of the Southern California Hospital Association said.