Hopefully this would discourage non-emergent cases:

HCA Inc., which owns JFK and St. Lucie Medical, is enacting the policy at several of its hospitals nationwide. The punitive measure reflects the near-chronic clogging of emergency rooms, often with patients whose minor scrapes, coughs and aches could be treated – cheaper – at a doctor’s office or clinic. The worst result of the pay-first policy would be a seriously ill patient being turned away because he did not appear sick enough and could not pay the $140 upfront fee. Some doctors are worried they might become targets for malpractice lawsuits. And apprehension about the policy could deter patients with genuine emergencies.