Posted by mellow on April 14, 2011, at 15:34:03
In reply to Obama New Health Care Cuts Please Read + Comment, posted by Phillipa on April 13, 2011, at 22:06:51
The reason this is concerning to many health agencies is because MC is are starting balloon payments. I work in a hospital and have spoken with our executives. If someone comes in to the ER with a heart attack and it is determined that they have congestive heart failure, there is a set rate we will get paid to treat that patient. The federal government now has algorithms for what tests and how many days you need to keep said patient. If you use more resources than that to make the patient better...oh well you aren't getting paid anymore than the standard payment for that diagnostic code.
Lets says that patient is a whimp and goes home and is a little constipated and then calls 911 because they swear they are having another heart attack. They end up coming back to us for two days to take a laxative and take x rays. And those services go under the original payment. Who do you think pays for the ambulance ride?
I'm not saying I don't think MC is beneficial. In fact it is critical in the lives of our seniors, but it has gotten so beyond that in scope and our population has gotten so lazy in regards to our own health and wellness that wonderful health organizations like the hospital I work for are just going to go out of business. We lost 80 million last year in services that weren't reimbursed. Whats 2011 going to be like? Can you imagine being a doctor who works 10-12 hour days and have your salary shrink every year when MC makes cuts? I know several who are in this exact situation.
mellow
Bipolar II
Lamictal 150, Topamax 50, Risperdal 2, Cal/Mag, D3 1000, Fish Oil 2400, High Potency Multi"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
poster:mellow
thread:982734
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110406/msgs/982823.html