Plight of Rural Hospitals on `This Week`.

[BA Deere]

It was an interesting story on This Week with George concerning rural hospital closings.  Without getting too political , those on the debate stage all raised their hands on giving undocumented immigrants free healthcare, also all were in favor of "Medicare for all". 

Here`s the main causes of rural hospitals closing, the elderly population on Medicare does not reimburse the doctor or hospital enough to cover their expenses. And not enough patients with private health insurance, which is where the medical community gets their bread & butter.  So I hear presidential candidates saying "do away with private insurance or let it die on the vine and shift everyone to Medicare for all".   This has been a problem many of us could see coming from a long ways off and now it`s here, a woman might have to drive 1 1/2 hours for a doctor to deliver her baby or if you get your arm mangled in a combine.  And EMT ambulance volunteer service in rural areas is a whole nother can of worms.

I guess I would say, if your hospital is closing, look at the causes and see if those causes don`t match up with some of the political remedies that are being proposed.  Study your lessons!

https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1145308502757298179

[k-289]

CONsolidation   is  a  fabulous  deal in  this  market  also  -  kinda  liken  to  seed  unit  vs.  bushel -   -   -

Is  it  the  water  our  Canadian  neighbors  are  drinking  to  keep  them  healthy,  cause   you  would  think  by  now  their  government  health  care  would  have  caused  them  all  to  perish  - ? 

READ  your  State  government  policy  on  Medicare -  Medicad  reimbursement  %  -  -  - 

BA  - Just  think  of  your  grain  $ale$  were  made  in  80,000  kernel  counts  -   -   -    

[BA Deere]

K-289, hospitals in rural areas are closing because they`re losing money. If McDonalds comes into town and makes money, they will put up another restaurant, Hardees, Burger King, Wendys, Culvers will follow if there`s a demand for hamburgers.  If restaurants are making money in a town, the only one won`t close and you won`t have to drive 1 1/2 hours for a hamburger.   No, hospitals in rural areas are losing money, so they close...the "overpaid" doctors and nurses wouldn`t want to give up a money making gig, right?

But George Stephanoupolus talked to one of the top tier candidates and he wanted healthcare for undocumented immigrants and for private insurance to "die on the vine" and "medicare for all".    Then This Week with George Stephanopolous ran a piece on rural hospitals closing, siting that patients that can`t pay, Medicare not sufficiently reimbursing for the care and not enough rural residents with private insurance.    "Private insurance", you know the thing that keeps metropolitan hospitals solvent and all of the candidates on the debate stage wanting to "die on the vine"?

[BA Deere]

I should add that Canada has 37 million people and the US has 330 million people, what works in Canada won`t work here.  

Isn`t medicare a federal program?   If Medicare reimbursed health costs as well as private insurance does, then Medicare won`t be "cheap", right?   There isn`t any free lunches.  To just say "medicare for all!", is buying votes and a simplistic "solution" to a complex problem.

[WCMO]

The biggest problem with "medicare for all" is that most who say that are talking about nationalized health CARE (similar to VA) , not nationalized health INSURANCE (similar to Medicare).  And, for what we pay for private insurance, even if on the Obamacare plans, we should also be covered for eventual potential long-term care needs, yet we are not.  Ignoring the long-term care aspect, at a minimum, we need a public-option health insurance to compete with the private companies -- a public-option health insurance could be as simple as extending Medicare to anyone who wants to sign up, while paying for a larger share of the premium than the elderly.  Still, any way one looks at it, none of it probably works without adequate participation to even out the risk pool -- that probably only happens if we get rid of employer-sponsored primary health insurance coverage -- so, that probably doesn't happen in our lifetimes.

On rural hospitals -- around here, the small hospitals in the smaller towns are quite limited in what they can do, and not sure I would trust them with anything too big or complicated, anyone with bigger needs gets carted/flown to larger hospitals in bigger places.

[k-289]

Why  does  B -cross - Blue Shield  have  Medicare  supplement  insurance  - if  so  called  gov.  insurance  is  such  a  debacle  - ?  

Remember,  private  insurance  does'nt  pay  FULL  RETAIL  either,  like'n  to  you  don't  sell  80K corn  units,   instead  of  bushels  -  -  -

Complexity,   being   parallel  to  K Street  activity  in  D. C. ,  and  the  conversation  from  the  President ,  '''  better,  less   expensive,  everybody,  made  on  January  11 2017,   being  liken  to  '' Mission  Accomplished ''  from  an  aircraft  carrier in  May  of  2003   -  -  -

The disappearance  of  8  - 12  room  motels  along  US 30  seems  a  fair  comparison  -  maybe  -  -  -  

[BA Deere]

From what I understand, Medicare doesn`t cover everything, so private insurance offers plans to cover the gaps 

Medigap is extra health insurance that you buy from a private company to pay health care costs not covered by Original Medicare, such as co-payments, deductibles, and health care if you travel outside the U.S. Medigap policies don't cover long-term care, dental care, vision care, hearing aids, eyeglasses, and private- ...Nov 10, 2018   

Hospitals will haggle with even individuals, a friend of mine had surgery and 80/20 coverage...well 20% of a $50,000 operation is still a chunk of change, so he let his portion of the bill ride.  After a year or so, the hospital sent a letter "if you pay your bill by the end of the month, we`ll knock 30% off" he promptly wrote them a check and sent it in for the new amount.

If you get a hospital bill, you can see what the insurance company had to pay...it might take a year or more for all the bills to come through, but you can see it when it does come    And in most cases, you`ll be thankful you had insurance picking up your tab and for a short period of time, you`ll forget the premiums you`ve paid.

[k-289]

I  have  plan  G  -  -  -

Question  being  if  Medicare  is  so  worthless,  why  hasn't  some  '' expert ''  developed  a  private  plan  to  ''  save & gather '' all  those  tax  payer  $$$$  - or  are  they  comfortable  &  cozy  with  the  plan  now  offered  ?

As  I  witness  all  65 +  folks  on  socialized  medicine ,  I  find  it  interesting -  -  -

Germany seems  to  have  an interesting  road  map  to  this  topic  -  -  -

As  far  as  bill  settlement,  I  was  reminded  at  renewal  of  my  $10,000.oo  visit,  except  they  didn't  want  to  discuss  their  real  cost  settlement  amount,  paid  out - ?       

[sw363535]

1.  Plight of medicare is Congress/taxpayers and what they consider the definition of healthcare....their demanding what must be covered by insurance (ie. entertainment living and self destructive  ego pumping modifications just as examples)  If it weren't for congress-- insurance could trim a few items and improve the whold issue --if activities made us ineligible for health insurance....personal choices like drug use, excessive obesity, sexual entertainment medicine, STD's  etc etc.-- we could control health care costs and stop encouraging psyco healthcare surfing.

2.   Plight of rural healthcare is the number of administrators, congressmen, regulators, experts, insurance representatives, county boards, State regulators, workmans comp pseudo experts, insurance subcontractor claims collectors, hospital staff, and lawyers that fight for a position between the patient and the doctor or Nurse that provide healthcare.  We ask for that every time we want the other tax payers to pay for our aches and pains.

3.  Need a eyeopener --- step in the front door of an area hospital and make a list of the employees that actually treat patience ----- it'll be somewhere far below 15% of the staff.    What's most important in healthcare--- IMO clean disinfected facilities.  Look at that list of payroll .... the number of employees assigned to cleaning will be smaller than the % that treat patience.  ---------- Medical records (data processing) and administration will be ???%............. you get the point.

Sorry but somebody has to point out the obvious.  The cost of wanting free stuff, expecting glamor lifestyles or sharing our expenses with our neighbors is insane when congress gets involved and all those listed in #2 without medical degrees are involved in diagnosis.  I used to put a bowling ball in hog pens to provide entertainment to the patience with too much free time.

The human population is no different.  Without physical activity or hand labor we start chewing on ourselves and panicing at rumors..... This society provides drugs and the internet instead of bowling balls.

4.  There are Health care providers and their patients that are avoiding the whole mess by keeping the process totally between the doctor and patients as much as possible and carrying only a catastrophic insurance buffer.  I know of one health care group in the Omaha area that is doing just that.. Details I cannot provide.

[k-289]

Keep  In  Mind,   our  policy law  is  designed  around  the  folks  representing  you,  and  what  They  Promise  For  Themselves  -  -  -

Betting  there  will  be  an  huge  wheel  barrow  full  of  empty , hollow,  pie  in  the  sky statements  spewed  out,  just  liken  to  the  past  -  -  -

CONsolidation  is  a  co$t  savior  scheme  theme  -  -  -