Top Hospitals opt out of Obamacare

[sidepasser]

I read this today:

Regulations driven by the Obama White House have indeed made insurance more affordable – if, like Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, you're looking only at price. But responding to Obamacare caps on premiums, many insurers will, in turn, simply offer top-tier doctors and hospitals far less cash for services rendered.

Watchdog.org looked at the top 18 hospitals nationwide as ranked by U.S. News and World Report for 2013-2014. We contacted each hospital to determine their contracts and talked to several insurance companies, as well.

The result of our investigation: Many top hospitals are simply opting out of Obamacare.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news...t-of-obamacare


Here is a chart that shows which insurance that the top hospitals will accept if purchased through the ACA (Obamacare):

http://health.usnews.com/health-news...nder-obamacare

[Old Vet]

In our area there is some of the DR that only do cash. Their rates are cheap so you don't need insurance.

[Harry Chickpea]

Excellent digging! On a related note, Aetna did a breakdown on where the high medical costs come from. I distrust insurance companies on details, but the big finding that was related was that hospitals were by far the greatest source of extravagant health care costs, nearly doubling actual costs with excess testing and other charges.

We've all seen the smaller hospitals go out of business (one near here is now a haunted Halloween attraction) while the large hospitals have gotten larger through acquisition and expansion.

We could be on the verge of a three-way fight of epic proportions as the govt, the hospitals, and the insurance industry duke it out.

[Ozarks Tom]

Strange things happen when you put the bean counters in charge of anything.

[Harry Chickpea]

Tom, you said a lot more with that one statement than most folks can understand. I've seen firsthand what happens to companies where the beancounters and KKR take control.

[Nate_in_IN]

Originally Posted by Harry Chickpea

Tom, you said a lot more with that one statement than most folks can understand. I've seen firsthand what happens to companies where the beancounters and KKR take control.

One of the strangest concepts I have ever come across is "generally accepted accounting practices". Only in accounting is something OK, or correct, just because a bunch of people do it.

[Harry Chickpea]

Originally Posted by Nate_in_IN

One of the strangest concepts I have ever come across is "generally accepted accounting practices". Only in accounting is something OK, or correct, just because a bunch of people do it.

*psst* (church) (don't tell).

[Wayne02]

Originally Posted by Harry Chickpea

Excellent digging! On a related note, Aetna did a breakdown on where the high medical costs come from. I distrust insurance companies on details, but the big finding that was related was that hospitals were by far the greatest source of extravagant health care costs, nearly doubling actual costs with excess testing and other charges.

That doesn't surprise me. Thankfully it's been quite a number of years since I've had to visit a hospital (knocking on wood), but the time I did visit was a real eye opener. Talking with my doctor on the phone about an issue and he instructed me to go to the emergency room. Where after waiting for X number of hours I was put in a room where several different people came in to see me, one of which was an actual doctor who spent a whopping 5 minutes at most. Then I was told to go to an xray room and then discharged in just under 60 minutes from the time I was called from the waiting room.

The bill was of course several thousands of dollars and pages long with every single second and every single cotton ball accounted for on the bill. Line items for this or that type of 'overhead', etc. Honestly, if it wasn't so pathetic it would have been laughable. The only thing I didn't see listed on there was a charge for the janitor and the security guard although that may have been under one of the magical overhead categories I guess.

I have great respect for medical professionals as I know it takes years of schooling and the working conditions are not always that great. And having experience with family members involvement I am always impressed with the caring and compassion of the medical folks. However, medical costs are so far out of line that it simply makes for an unworkable system.

[where I want to]

There will be some serious problems until the dust settles. Some of the more expensive hospitals are the ones where they take people no one else will see, are teaching hospitals or do research.
Under the Obamacare philosophy of health care, everyone will be able to get "free" screening and no one will get the followup treatment as the treatment is what is expensive. And the only way to control costs is to restrict care. The rich will simply pay but the rest of us will sit in the clinic waiting room.
But Obama's not worried- he will be on the lecture circuit making big bucks by then.

[Grumpy old man]

Well I just decided to show up at an ER when needed and claim poor and unemployed ,I don't use banks and the land is in a family trust so what can they take ? I don't get tax refunds and my credit manger is Hellen wait they can go there when they want something from me ! To those who do sign up and pay ...Thanks !

[ninny]

You can thank the lawyers for a lot of those unnecessary tests and costs.

.

[Tricky Grama]

The costs are so hi to cover the folks who don't pay.

[sss3]

sidepasser Thanks for posting that list. Duke Hosp, 20 min away, is on the list.

[Tricky Grama]

Heard that the 2 largest 'chains' will opt out. That's a LOT of hosp. around the country. This (along w/everything else like millions losing their private ins. & majority of sign-ups being medicaid) will cause the whole thing to collapse & the socailists in charge will put single payer in place.
What'ya bet?

[arabian knight]

Originally Posted by Tricky Grama

Heard that the 2 largest 'chains' will opt out. That's a LOT of hosp. around the country. This (along w/everything else like millions losing their private ins. & majority of sign-ups being medicaid) will cause the whole thing to collapse & the socailists in charge will put single payer in place.
What'ya bet?

Yes many of them are even Mayo is only accepting one insurance company and then only one of the levels Sliver plan from Blue cross.