Healthcare and Money
Jan 26, 2024 08:34:27 #
This is ridiculous. Stewart's, large medical conglomerate in New England, runs nine hospitals and employs 16,000 people. The problem is that it cannot pay its bills. Medical equipment was repossessed by the equipment company because it hadn't been paid for. As a result, a woman died. This country has a complicated medical situation, marked by high prices for medical gear and huge bills to patients. Ironically, a spokesman for Stewarts said this -
[i]Steward’s hospitals, it says, “have for several years now been consistently recognized among the best in the nation and state by the likes of highly credible ratings organizations for providing excellent life-saving surgical and critical care.”[/]
It's "among the best in the nation," but patients die because the hospital can't afford medical equipment. What does that say about the "not so best" hospitals?
Let's try to keep this out of The Attic.
[i]Steward’s hospitals, it says, “have for several years now been consistently recognized among the best in the nation and state by the likes of highly credible ratings organizations for providing excellent life-saving surgical and critical care.”[/]
It's "among the best in the nation," but patients die because the hospital can't afford medical equipment. What does that say about the "not so best" hospitals?
Let's try to keep this out of The Attic.
Jan 26, 2024 09:06:51 #
I think you have too many people that receives services that don't/can't pay for it.
Jan 26, 2024 09:08:20 #
tradio wrote:
I think you have too many people that receives services that don't/can't pay for it.
Jan 26, 2024 12:38:38 #
Jerry, designing, building, and maintaining the mechanical systems for hospitals and healthcare facilities was one of our specialties. It's difficult to think of a facility as expensive and as complex to build as a hospital and the many agency and Code requirements are staggering. Construction costs range from $500 up to nearly $1,000 per square foot. They are a city of 24/7 highly specialized employees and state-of-the-art specialized medical equipment.
Medical machines require specialized rooms, specialized utilities, specialized environments, specialized operators, specialists to interpret the readings, consumable supplies, and regular maintenance that only factory-trained technicians can provide. For example, by the time it is done, a 2.5-million-dollar linear accelerator to radiate cancer tumors will cost about that amount to house it and make it functional, not including the cost of utilities and medical team expenses to operate it.
Socialized healthcare is a wonderful idea until it runs out of other people's money.
Medical machines require specialized rooms, specialized utilities, specialized environments, specialized operators, specialists to interpret the readings, consumable supplies, and regular maintenance that only factory-trained technicians can provide. For example, by the time it is done, a 2.5-million-dollar linear accelerator to radiate cancer tumors will cost about that amount to house it and make it functional, not including the cost of utilities and medical team expenses to operate it.
Socialized healthcare is a wonderful idea until it runs out of other people's money.
Jan 26, 2024 13:53:23 #
Jan 26, 2024 14:37:10 #
FreddB
Loc: PA - Delaware County
foodie65 wrote:
Jerry, this isn’t the same Stewart’s where you buybuce cream, is it???🤭🤭🤭
They make a pretty good root beer, and the orange cream soda tastes just like a creamsicle 💃🏼🕺🏼
Jan 26, 2024 18:49:17 #
tradio wrote:
I think you have too many people that receives services that don't/can't pay for it.
I say the inurance companies are peartially culpable. Many insurance companies charge high premiums but pay minimal percentages of the charges for care, while lining the pockets of the upper echelons. I will not discount the costs of medical equipment necessary for evaluation and treatment, for they too share responsibility, in a similar manner.
Jan 27, 2024 10:14:30 #
foodie65 wrote:
Jerry, this isn’t the same Stewart’s where you buybuce cream, is it???🤭🤭🤭
Maybe those hospitals sell ice cream to visitors.
Jan 27, 2024 10:17:34 #
sippyjug104 wrote:
Socialized healthcare is a wonderful idea until it runs out of other people's money.
Right! People who can't afford healthcare or insurance are not wealthy enough to support society financially, so let them die. "Other peoples' money" is used to support everything the government does. The government collects the money, and it decides where to spend it. Keeping people alive is way down on the list of priorities. People who aren't rich enough to afford healthcare aren't worth having around. Right?
Jan 27, 2024 10:21:08 #
jerryc41 wrote:
Maybe those hospitals sell ice cream to visitors.
They serve Stewart Ice Cream to the patients too.
Jan 27, 2024 10:21:58 #
BebuLamar wrote:
They serve Stewart Ice Cream to the patients too.
I'll look forward to that.
Jan 29, 2024 11:45:53 #
Reuss Griffiths
Loc: Ravenna, Ohio
I don't know how hospitals figure out if they make money or not. If you read your medical bills supplied to you by your insurance company, the hospital/doctor charges you $1,459 for a procedure and the insurance company pays them $297.43 dollars and your share is $55.00. Apparently, some poor soul who does not have insurance actually pays the $1,459 (or not). How can the hospital possibly figure out if they make money when so much variability and uncertainty abound. Apparently, they can't and the aforementioned situations happen.
Jan 29, 2024 12:13:54 #
Reuss Griffiths wrote:
I don't know how hospitals figure out if they make... (show quote)
It seems that many hospitals run at a loss, although "for profit" hospitals seem to make a profit. The key to success is being born with good genes and staying healthy.
Jan 31, 2024 10:17:27 #
StanMac
Loc: Tennessee
tradio wrote:
I think you have too many people that receives services that don't/can't pay for it.
My son’s visit with his cardiologist was billed at $552. That was for a 10 minute talk with the Doctor and an EKG by a nurse. Is it any wonder that people can’t pay their medical bills?
Stan
Jan 31, 2024 10:37:32 #
StanMac wrote:
My son’s visit with his cardiologist was billed at $552. That was for a 10 minute talk with the Doctor and an EKG by a nurse. Is it any wonder that people can’t pay their medical bills?
Stan
Stan
Yes, it's a sad situation. I like to keep telling the story about my thumb. After carelessly cutting it in the workshop, I went to the ER. The nurse washed it, bandaged it, and gave me two tetanus shots. I received a bill for $5,600. I was eventually able to work it down to my copay.
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