That statement shows a basic misunderstanding of how healthcare works.
Free Clinics don't have 'beds'. They provide routine healthcare in the form of well check ups, screenings, and work ups. Doctors there do pap smears, prostate screenings, labwork, and prescribe medications, do referrals, etc. They are a good place to go if your child has an earache or a high fever, becomes listless, and you think he/she needs further evaluation. They keep a certain amount of timeslots open each day for non-scheduled same day appointments for stitches or other non-urgent matters that need attention that can't wait for a regular appointment.
Occasionally a clinic will need to directly admit a patient from a clinic appointment to the hospital because of findings during a visit. Most patients are admitted through an ER visit, however. ERs are the place to go for emergencies. A high fever in a child usually isn't an emergency. Shortness of breath during an asthma attack unrelieved by an inhaler can be life threatening.
The program described that was started by Obama's wife sounds like it was intended, yes, to save money, but also to relieve the ER from having to deal with patients who didn't have a clinic or know about clinics. If those poor people really get sick or injured though, they'll have to go to the hospital and be in a hospital bed on a hospital ward. A clinic can't provide that type of care.
