Hospitals now get their cash from insurance companies and from public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid -- the public programs are already freeloading. A hospital collects 93 cents for each dollar spent treating a Medicare patient and 86 cents for a Medicaid patient -- but manages to stay open by charging more for privately insured patients.
The Senate bill expands Medicaid enrollment (in fact, 60 percent of those newly insured by the bill are put in Medicaid) and slashes payment rates for Medicare patients.
Richard Foster, Chief Actuary for Medicare, documented the severe impact of these cuts on hospitals in a Nov. 13 report to Congress, predicting that hospitals will face losses. In the end, all patients will suffer when hospitals are dirtier, ill equipped and understaffed.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Our doctor, the government - NYPOST.com
Our doctor, the government - NYPOST.com
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