spin_dry Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Why US hospitals are closing Published Tue, Feb 18 202010:20 AM ESTUpdated Tue, Feb 18 202010:44 AM EST In rural towns across the U.S., hospitals are in crisis. Since 2010, 121 rural hospitals have closed. The National Rural Health Association says more than one-third of all rural U.S. hospitals are at serious risk of shutting down. The decision by some states not to expand Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act could be a big reason for many of the closures, according to the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute. Hospital consolidation, demographics and a drop in demand for inpatient services are other factors, according to one analyst. But it’s not just rural hospitals that are going out of business. Several hospitals in urban areas including Phoenix and Chicago have shut down. One recent high-profile closure was Philadelphia’s Hahnemann University Hospital, a 496-bed hospital considered by many to be a lifeline for the city’s neediest. It shut its doors in September as it struggled with monthly losses of $3 million to $5 million, according to news reports. At the same time, larger U.S. hospital systems are thriving. Since the 1990s, a series of mergers and acquisitions has created mammoth hospital groups. Many of these hospital consortiums are turning huge profits every year by offering high-priced services like cardiac and orthopedic care to well-insured patients. Every hospital has its own model for how it brings in cash. Generally speaking, hospitals charge the highest rates to private commercial payers — people covered by private employer insurance — and receive lower payment rates for patients covered under government programs such as Medicare, for the disabled and people over age 65, and Medicaid which covers low-income Americans. A hospital’s location is a big indicator of the type of insurance a patient will have. Larger metropolitan areas tend to have more people who are covered under private employer health insurance, boosting the percentage of higher-paying patients. Rural areas with fewer large employers make for a lower number of privately insured patients. ″One of the greatest predictors of how much money a hospital makes is how wealthy the community is in which they are located,” said Dr. Marty Makary, a surgical oncologist at John Hopkins Hospital. “Hospitals in wealthy communities have well-insured patients. Hospitals that are predominantly taking care of government-insured patients or poor patients tend to struggle.” One way hospitals have been able to drum up more cash: raising prices on private insurance plans. And one way hospital systems strengthen their ability to do that is by getting bigger. Analysts say that’s one of the factors driving all the mergers and consolidation across U.S. hospitals. By gaining market share, they can raise their prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anler Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Poor podunk hillbillies. What do you think abou the cidiot healthcare system now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spin_dry Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 Just now, Anler said: Poor podunk hillbillies. What do you think abou the cidiot healthcare system now? The corona virus will clear out the rural areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anler Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Just now, spin_dry said: The corona virus will clear out the rural areas. The poor and underinsured no doubt. Then the boomers. It will be glorious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ez ryder Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 bull shit not enough old people left on those small towns. the ones left there kids make them move in to assisted living apt so they don't have to worry and those have doctors coming to you . you can't go any place with out seeing a new huge assisted living building going up . every one is getting in on the racket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spin_dry Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 5 minutes ago, Anler said: The poor and underinsured no doubt. Then the boomers. It will be glorious! Red states don’t need no stinking Obamacare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecat Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Boomers have more vaccines in them that anyone on the planet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F3600 Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 This is such bullshit. Mini Mike is running FB ads here in MN about this exact thing. Comments filled with construction guys with their lying eyes doing nothing but building and remodelling rural clinics and hospitals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anler Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 1 hour ago, Mainecat said: Boomers have more vaccines in them that anyone on the planet. Boomers are already on 15 different meds from living a life of not giving a fuck. The coronavirus will wreck them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry ginger Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 1 minute ago, Anler said: Boomers are already on 15 different meds from living a life of not giving a fuck. The coronavirus will wreck them. that would help this countries financials greatly with a 10-15% mortality rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKIQPilot Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Death to the boomers cant come soon enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bussman Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Just now, AKIQPilot said: Death to the boomers cant come soon enough. Millennials are so fat, out of shape and medicated they’re right behind them. GenX ftw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spin_dry Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 30 minutes ago, Anler said: Boomers are already on 15 different meds from living a life of not giving a fuck. The coronavirus will wreck them. The 1918 flu did more to even out wealth disparity than any Bernie Sanders program could accomplish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anler Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 3 minutes ago, spin_dry said: The 1918 flu did more to even out wealth disparity than any Bernie Sanders program could accomplish Im counting on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member Highmark Posted February 24, 2020 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted February 24, 2020 2 hours ago, Ez ryder said: bull shit not enough old people left on those small towns. the ones left there kids make them move in to assisted living apt so they don't have to worry and those have doctors coming to you . you can't go any place with out seeing a new huge assisted living building going up . every one is getting in on the racket Big one in my town and its expanding all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ez ryder Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 1 hour ago, Anler said: Boomers are already on 15 different meds from living a life of not giving a fuck. The coronavirus will wreck them. and most are total bullshit. my mother-in-law was taking fist fulls of meds 2.5 yrs ago she went in to nursing home and on hospice with 2 mo to live . took her off all the meds and she is still alive 275k latter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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