> But it's simply not true. my mom broke her back last year and before we realized that her back was broken, we saw an urgent care doctor, same day, within 30mins (I don't recall the exact timescale now, but it was pretty much instant). Who promptly gave my mom an Rx and told us to go to the ER.

Ok.

But in the reply you are responding to I specifically carved out an exception for emergency situations:

> I can only surmise these people haven't been to a non-emergency doctor since prior to 2020.

Your mom's situation was certainly an emergency.

I'm glad she was seen promptly, but her situation is very different than someone who needs to see a specialist for something that is not immediately life threatening (even if waiting could have serious long term health consequences).