Medicaid and Medicare cuts result in bankrupt hospitals

[lovuian]

http://www.medindia.net/news/Medicare-Medicaid-Proposed-Cuts-may-Force-Docs-to-Stop-Seeing-Patients-89814-1.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+allhealthnews+%28Medindia+Health+News%29

US lawmakers have for sometime now been struggling with facts and figures on how to cut federal spending by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years.

There are proposals to cut Medicare and Medicaid programs that could make it impossible for many hospitals to remain profitable and force doctors to stop seeing Medicare patients.

As part of a deal struck earlier this month to raise the nation's debt ceiling, a bi-partisan "supercommittee" has until Nov. 23 to make recommendations for spending cuts. If Congress cannot agree on a plan, automatic spending cuts will begin in 2013 - including a 2 per cent reduction in Medicare reimbursements to hospitals and health care providers.

That change will result in the loss of $1.3 billion for Pennsylvania hospitals alone over a nine-year period, according to Michael Strazzella, vice president of federal relations for the Hospital and Healthsystems Association of Pennsylvania.

But proposals being studied to avoid the automatic cuts may end up being worse for hospitals, doctors and patients, experts said. Suggestions include:

A 30 per cent cut to Medicare reimbursements to physicians, which many doctors say would force many in their ranks out of business.

[taught_me_patience]

1. They're proposing a 30% cut in Medicare reimbursements? WTF?

That ain't going to go over very well.

[izquierdista]

2. How about take the profit out of hospitals?

No Ferengis on the "supercommittee".

[lovuian]

3. Non for profit Hospitals will go bankrupt

they take the majority of Medicaid and Medicare patients

[izquierdista]

4. You don't get my point

A national health service, like what they run in the UK, doesn't have to have each hospital be an "independent profit center". If we would run all of the Ferengis (people who only value profit) out of the health care system, we would, in the end, make out better financially.