First of all, the obligatory “Happy New Year”. I happened to have slept through it, but…
I came across this headline yesterday:” Mayo Clinic in Arizona to Stop Treating Some Medicare Patients“.Arizona-land of the snowbird and frozen tundra retirees. Arizona, where Phoenix is the kidnapping capitol of America. So, I read on. I discovered that Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic are non-profit (Mayo and Cleveland are ranked #2 and #4 ,respectively, in the nation). The article goes on to report that the Mayo Clinic Organization lost $840,000,000 treating Medicare patients last year, $120,000,000 of that in Arizona. The article goes on to say that there has been a 20% payment gap (for Medicare) nationwide, for at least a decade. Now, as a businessman, 20% means that in a non-profit atmosphere, that disparity is eating into your overhead recovery. In other words, you’re not only not making money, you’re losing money on each patient. And from the article, that’s been going on for over a decade. OK, multiply 10 x 20% = 200%, meaning that 2 full years of revenue, not profit, but revenue have been lost over the past decade. Now, how does a business make up the difference? Only two ways: increase revenue and/or cut expenses. It ain’t rocket science. Well, if you are offering a service with so many hours in a day and so many providers, you can charge more for those who pay in order to cover your losses (sound familiar yet? Now, you have another clue as to why aspirin in a hospital costs $10). Eliminating a non-profit or a pure cost item is eliminating an expense. Therefore, Medicare gets dropped. Yet, the Obamacare package is going to cut Medicare reimbursements by approximately $500,000,000.
So, where do Medicare retirees go now? What next? The article states that 92% of American doctors participate in Medicare, but that only 73% are taking new Medicare patients. I’m 60. I’m on the front edge of the wave called the Baby Boom. We will bankrupt the system that is now underfunded by tens of trillions of dollars. What will happen when the Baby Boomers behind me flood and overwhelm the system’s ability to even come close to adequately funding the Medicare Plan? When you have the likes of Boxer, Feinstein, Franken, Klobuchar, Schumer, Jackson Lee who can’t even give money away are now in charge of health care?
There will absolutely have to be rationing of health care. There is no way around it. The laws of economics are like the laws of physics- they are inevitable. There will be bureaucrats sitting someplace in a conference room. They will decide what treatments will be offered to what types of patients. Yah, that’s right, people will have to die for lack of treatment for lack of money, aka the bureaucrats will therefore compose “death panels”.
The truth hurts.
Oh, and you, me, everyone else-the good news: we can opt out. The bad news:but we’ll be fined and/or be put in prison.
Bring it on…
P.S.- Seems even countries where there is complete and absolute government control experience the immutability of the laws of economic.
-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Archives
- February 2014
- September 2013
- April 2013
- August 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- September 2011
- August 2011
- May 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- July 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- July 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
Categories
Meta