Galt's Gulch

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  • Posted by $ AJAshinoff 9 years, 10 months ago
    Documentation, documentation, documentation followed by procedure, procedure, procedure - let snot forget demerits for not stopping in the middle of a procedure to document what was done (or used) or failing to strictly follow procedure (no matter how mundane or unnecessary or how much it takes the nurses eyes off the patient)....this is driving my wife nuts (20 year OR nurse). Her private outpatient OR has been gobbled up by a hospital and they are now stressing conformity to comply with Ocare regulation.
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    • Posted by LetsShrug 9 years, 10 months ago
      We're moving towards third world care. Our premium is going up 50 bucks a month (on top of the 200 it increased last year.) Thanks Obama voters!!! Ahem, circuitguy!!
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        Posted by UncommonSense 9 years, 10 months ago
        Yep, and my employer just dropped Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield after the premiums were going to go up another 35% after having gone up 25% the year before. That's change I'm believing in. Remember, in order for communism to thrive, there has to shortages of something; whether those shortages occur naturally (rarely) or are made intentional (uh, centrally planned that way), just so long as political objectives are met, doesn't matter to them.
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    • Posted by $ allosaur 9 years, 10 months ago
      Thanks to Obamacare, I now have to fill out two pages of multiple choice questions about my general health just to see my chiropractor.
      You'd think the libtard tree-huggers would want to reduce timber cut to make paper.
      But, oh, yeah, documentation, documentation. What is a democrat but a bureaucrat's socialist documentation paradise?
      My medical doctor is really hoping that the next election will make all of Obamacare or what he calls "stupidity" go away.
      I don't know about that if a RINO bottom-feeder like Jeb Bush rises to the top and wins.
      That's provided that #III of the Royal House of Bush does not highly likely go the tepid way of McCain and Romney.
      Hey, but Romney may be back for us, though.
      Wheeee!
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  • Posted by Snoogoo 9 years, 10 months ago
    Speaking from what I know of the industry, there is a wave of consolidation hitting hospitals. Firms are buying them up and out very cheaply. As the article confirms, the firms focus on getting more patients from private insurers and liability insurers that pay the higher fees per service, many are deciding to not even accept Medicare/Medicaid because it is not even worth the hassle. The result is a supply squeeze during a period of demand increase (medicaid enrolls have increased thanks to the Obamacare expansions). The outcome of all of this is very predictable if you have studied basic economics.
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  • Posted by Robbie53024 9 years, 10 months ago
    O'care, Medicare and Medicaid are killing small and rural hospitals. The low reimbursement levels necessitate increased charges for those with regular insurance. As those proportions change and gov't sponsored healthcare options become a greater proportion, they cannot make up the deficiency in reimbursements via other patients. Thus, they must go out of business. This is not a free-market phenomenon, but rather one created by gov't.
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  • Posted by wiggys 9 years, 10 months ago
    times are not tough for our hospitals they are IMPOSSIBLE.
    We are just seeing the flow of closures accelerating .It will be like a torrent of water from a broken dam before he leaves office and then he will maintain his shit eating grin when he leaves office and say it is for the new president to correct. And during all of this time since it came to pass the opposition has chosen to let it go, having no regard for the now 320,000,000 citizens(?) of the usa. i expect the rate of assisted suicide will increase, not that those dying will know they were helped.
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  • Posted by Kerryo 9 years, 10 months ago
    Not surprising at all. Something had to give.

    Although the health industry already had its issues before ObamaCare, as demonstrated by AJAshinoff's wife and documentation. Does any hospital ever actually break even? They are all considered non-profit as far as I know in order to raise money for capital projects. Many if not all of the smaller hospitals are subsidized by the local government.

    I have said for a long time that OCare was never about better healthcare. It has always been about creating more revenue streams for the government. And now the incentive to enter the industry as a career is quickly being eliminated.

    OCare has irreversibly changed the healthcare industry. Whether even some of the changes are for the best is yet to be seen.
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  • Posted by bradberry1984 9 years, 10 months ago
    Our rural hospital is actually in the black because of Ocare....That's what they claim or is it the fact that the are 250% more expensive than hospitals 3 hours away. Wait they don't have any competition here locally..what was I thinking...
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  • Posted by radicalbill 9 years, 10 months ago
    I have watched, over the past 10 years, before Obama, as large healthcare companies have eaten up all the hospitals, doctors, specialty services, labs, even pharmacies, to gain a 100% monopoly on healthcare in major cities. This is not due to Obama, this is due to greed. They fired many, many doctors and staff, and the nurse to patient ratio is 20 to 1 or worse. Most people working in hospitals are not nurses, they are techs, and they went through a 6 week course and are paid 10 dollars an hour. I was in the hospital and on my floor, there were 30 patients, and most nights not one staff member. I spent many nights sitting at the nurses station as patients pressed the call buttons and got no response. People died almost every night and hours went by with the Code Blue message going off for multiple floors and there were only 4 nurses in the entire hospital after midnight. Then I saw the benifactors, and how well they were treated at their party in the hospital, including private armed security to keep the little people away. Very ugly. We are all screwed, and it is because of greed. Same thing is happening in pharmacies. My RS out of pocket is 100 dollars, but when the insurance pays, it is only 30. Which means it really costs about 10. They pad the cost to get what they want and if you pay cash, they make a boat load. Sickens me. Healthcare is one place where it needs to be not for profit and the patients need to rate the service and people should be paid by those evals and fired by them as well. Same for teachers. Here in NY, 50% of kids no longer graduate H.S. and that is just fine. Everyone accpts it. People need to be fired, and schools need to be shut down and people need to be accountable.
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    • Posted by LetsShrug 9 years, 10 months ago
      Get the gov out of ALL of that. Privatise everything...of course people should make a profits, people won't work or do a good job for free. (Would you? That's slavery.) Doctor's, teachers, etc aren't there for charity...we all deserve to be paid what we earn, good grief. Almost all of these issues are brought on by gov interference...follow it backwards. And also a lack of a rational philosophy about life is missing here. Stop blaming greed for everything. Wanting to be paid for your work is not greedy.. Wanting people to work for free, or having the gov take over to steal the labors of others IS.
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      • Posted by radicalbill 9 years, 10 months ago
        The doctors and nurses should be paid according to how well they do. I have no problem with them making money, but the corp they are working for is forcing them to work for less. That goes against the American way of life. You work hard, you want to be paid. The corporations, who do nothing, are saying no, we want all the money. That is where the problem is, and they put nothing back into the system I have seen the inside, and equipment is broken, hospitals are falling apart, literally, and now the big thing is drug treatment, because there is money in it, where they just stick people in a room to detox for a month. Min cost, max profit. I have no problem with a doctor making a million a year, but not the hospital. it should put all its money back into new equipment, more staff, etc.. Not take the moeny and run. This has been coming for 30 years, since the 80's people I know in the healthcare industry, they were looking to get out, because they knew what was coming. Try finding a private doctor any more. here, in NY, we have 3 huge mega corps that own everything. You have to go to a doctor that is owned by one of those 3. It is not good, for anyone.
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        • Posted by LetsShrug 9 years, 10 months ago
          And the solution is..... ?
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          • Posted by radicalbill 9 years, 10 months ago
            Not for profit. Make min standards for staffing, performance reviews to set pay and someone from an outside company to be sure that the equipment works, staffing is being met, and patients are receiving the needed care in a timely manner.
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            • Posted by LetsShrug 9 years, 10 months ago
              At who's expense?? Gee, great idea, rad, go start a non profit hospital. Don't forget to treat anyone who walks into your ER whether they have the ability, or intent to pay too. (It's the law) But hey, being a non profit, that should be a piece of cake.. And that can double as your free lunch.
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              • Posted by radicalbill 9 years, 10 months ago
                not for profit only means that the huge chunk of money that should be going to patient care and staff and upgrades, goes there, and not into the pockets of the very few. There are a few industries that need this, healthcare is one. A little socialism is a good thing, just like a little capitalism is a good thing, but you can't have absolute of either. It has to be a mix. With the new medical insurances, everyone is covered, so it is not a worry whether they will get paid or not. Medicare and Medicaid need to be rolled into one govt. program. As it is now, it is so complicated and there is so much overhead, that 90% of the money going into those programs goes to admin costs, not to pay the bills of the patients.

                Each year, with the COL increase, if you have Medicare and Medicaid, the state has to redo the numbers and it takes about 24 hours of employee time to do this. A simpler solution would be to have 1 system, run by the govt that pays the healthcare, and if the COL increase causes a need for a spend down, which it usually does, than they could decrease food stamps or not give the COL. A simple solution that would save billions.

                There are a lot of these wasteful problems in all industries, but all they look at is employees as being the wasteful part, and capital improvements, nothing else.

                Here, a private company took, and blew, over a billion dollars in tax payer money, and the state had to step in to complete the project and pay the workers and the bills.

                No one was charged with anything, and now the company is making money and they don't have to pay anything back.

                This is wrong, and this happens way too much.

                When you look deeply at the whole scene, not just one or two levels, but the big picture, you realize you are being ripped off by corporations, and there are no checks and balances to protect it from happening.

                Don't blame the little people, at least not all of them. Some are bad, and abuse the system, but the biggest losses come from the money corps steal from taxpayers. I can give examples
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                • Posted by LetsShrug 9 years, 10 months ago
                  I stopped reading at "a little socialism is a good thing". Wow.
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                  • Posted by radicalbill 9 years, 10 months ago
                    Have an open mind. I never thought I would like Atlas Shrugged, and I find a lot of good in the story, but not all of it.
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                    • Posted by LetsShrug 9 years, 10 months ago
                      Open YOUR mind and undo the brainwashing you cling to. Maybe you should reread Atlas...And dive into some of Rand's other works too. The Virtue of Selfishness and Capitalism the Unknown Ideal for starters.
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                      • Posted by radicalbill 9 years, 10 months ago
                        Once you are victim to the healthcare mega machine, your opinion will change. I like Atlas and it has good points, but it is not the total solution. There needs to be checks and balances. Common sense, good practices and policies. And oversight, by the public who does not get paid and who opens themself up to full disclosure so everyone can see they are not paid off to look the other way, as happens most of the time with oversight.
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    • Posted by wiggys 9 years, 10 months ago
      i just read on drudge that according to gruber obamacare is un-affordable and people will be denied services such as surgery unless of course you want to pay full price out of your own pocket. it does not matter how you debate this deal it ain't good for us.
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      • Posted by radicalbill 9 years, 10 months ago
        Here, in Albany, NY, St Peter's Health Partners, which is Ascension Health, a huge mega corp, bought hospitals, and closed them, bought cardiologists, G.I., neuro, etc.. and all the labs and closed about half and fired nurses and hired techs to replace them, and getting your blood drawn is a very painful experience, if they can get it, because they are not qualified for the jobs they are given. They are lobbying hard to get rid of nurses and X-ray techs, and any other job that requires a degree and licencing. They want to have 10 dollar an hour people doing the jobs. The insurance companies make the decision whether you get the operation before the doctor even gets a say. I was told I was not allowed to see a cardiologist, by the insurance and the doctor because the healthcare company deemed it too expensive. I paid out of pocket and it saved my life, but this should never happen. There are plenty of medical people, dr's and nurses and qualified people that can do the job, but like Walmart, who says if there are more than 3 people in line they will open another lane, they lie. They are happy to see the line go to the back of the store with only 4 self checkouts open, because it makes them a lot of money. Pharmacies are the same. I worked filling scripts at a mail order pharmacy and I questioned how I could do that when I had no medical training and the law says you have to be a pharmacist to fill them. I was shown the door. There were over 600 people working with me, none of them pharmacists. One of the largest mail order pharmacies too. What the law is, is not being enforced. We need more oversight in healthcare and we need, for the good of everyone, to make healthcare not for profit and not allow stock to be sold for these companies, and these monopolies need to be broken. Doctors, nurses, techs, and patients all agree on this. It is what the people want.
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  • Posted by fivedollargold 9 years, 10 months ago
    Ovomitcare was never intended to improve health care. It was intended to destroy our current healthcare system, so that the public would demand a single-payer national healthcare system.
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  • Posted by johnpe1 9 years, 10 months ago
    perfect example of government inefficiency ruining
    an industry. . the bureaucrats won't be satisfied
    until they drive everyone with a decent salary
    down to the middle class, and tax the middle class
    into relative poverty. -- j

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  • Posted by $ jlc 9 years, 10 months ago
    The article linked did not give a baseline of 'how many hospitals close per year' - even without Obamacare. I looked for that information and could not find precisely what I wanted, though I found an interesting article on rural hospital closures and the effect thereof on the surrounding economy. The timespan is about 1990-2000, so too early to measure the effects of Ocare, but it does project a per capita drop in income in the surrounding community (~$700) and an increase in unemployment. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles...

    Here are some additional data on Medicare hospitals opening/closing 2000 through 2010: https://aharesourcecenter.wordpress.com/...

    So far, I cannot find any good source that shows 'How Ocare has increased hospital closures'.

    However. I can discuss clinical laboratories, because that is what we deal with daily. Since we stared business in 1994, we have been made aware that a lab that does predominately Medicaid business cannot keep its doors open. The rule of thumb that most lab owners use is that Medicaid is a slight loss; private Insurance must exceed the Medicaid patients in order to have a profitable lab. (Medicare was about break-even.) Lowering Medicaid reimbursements puts in into the Medicaid class - you now need to balance it with the ever-decreasing private Insurance payments.

    We have commented on another thread as to how the USA is overpriced in medical charges. Some of this difference may be made up by increased efficiency, but much of both the high prices and low profitability is due to regulation and lack of competition.

    We can really do much better than this, but the government has to stop playing doctor.

    Jan
    (Medical Necessity has been a part of the schema for >20 years. We have a whole module that we sell that matches up the diagnosis with the tests ordered and tells you if you will be reimbursed for the tests if you run them.)

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  • Posted by Technocracy 9 years, 10 months ago
    One little tip I found out by accident.

    If it is something you can pay yourself, offer not to use insurance for it.

    At the facility I use that is a flat 50% discount for cash.
    Very handy to save cash when you haven't fulfilled your deductible yet. Downside is it takes longer to fulfill but whatever.
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