How to Protect Yourself From Obamacare

[Hoss]

Oklahoma Policy Institute FB post:

Meh.  Communist.   

[Teatownclown]

You don't know of anyone who does hernia repair in their spare time do you? 

My guy quit due to age. He could do them blindfolded.

Quit lifting and schtupin' so much.

[Teatownclown]

Did you read the whole article or stop at 693,000?

I thought I got that number off the cartoon...

That's not a gap btw....that's a canyon.

She's bettin' on the failure and Resurrection of the GOP/Teahadists in 2016. "Hillary v. Mary" I see it comin'.

But for now it's just another affair.

[nathanm]

I also doubt that hospitals would go out of business if the only payments they received were from insurance companies at negotiated rates.

You would be shocked at the amount of care that is given away every year by the hospitals here in Tulsa. Let's just say it's enough to be a very significant financial hardship.

[Red Arrow]

You would be shocked at the amount of care that is given away every year by the hospitals here in Tulsa. Let's just say it's enough to be a very significant financial hardship.

Is that just a statement or an attempt to disprove: "I also doubt that hospitals would go out of business if the only payments they received were from insurance companies at negotiated rates."?

How much service to local hospitals provide at the "retail" price compared to the negotiated prices with health care payers?   Do you have some numbers on that "very signifiant financial hardship"?

[Red Arrow]

You've been wrong.  It's okay.  Lots of people are.

I'm sure you know from personal experience of being wrong, again.

Edit:

You people who think you don't make mistakes are especially annoying to those of us who actually make no mistakes.   

[Conan71]

You would be shocked at the amount of care that is given away every year by the hospitals here in Tulsa. Let's just say it's enough to be a very significant financial hardship.

It's not so significant that it keeps St. John or St. Francis from having to reinvest profits into continuous expensive improvements.

[Red Arrow]

It's not so significant that it keeps St. John or St. Francis from having to reinvest profits into continuous expensive improvements.

Maybe we need to verify what Nathan means by "very significant financial hardship".  It might mean more money than they know what to do with and how to get rid of it without looking like a for-profit organization.  Probably not though.

[nathanm]

I don't believe the financials are public information, so I can't go into more detail.

[Gaspar]

You would be shocked at the amount of care that is given away every year by the hospitals here in Tulsa. Let's just say it's enough to be a very significant financial hardship.

That's actually quite true.  When I worked in the ER back in the late 80s and 90s, a significant portion of our "clients" were what we considered NO PAY.  They either had no identification, refused to give any, provided false information, or were simply broke.  They typically did not use the ER for emergency care, instead, they used it as a clinic and dispensary.  It was so prevalent that we had to set up a separate "FAST-TRACK" center.  Each night at around 12am we would get at least 6 "baby won't stop crying" charts.  BWSC's are expensive because even though we know it's colic, or an ear ache, or gas, the ER doc has to rule out everything from obstruction to injury, and baby's don't talk much. About half the time, we could just give the child some formula and he/she would go right to sleep while we performed a battery of tests, x-rays and examinations that required the services of at least 10 people. A BWSC can cost upwards of $1,000 that the hospital will never see. 

Our frequent flyers knew us by name and came in several times a week.  Sometimes mom and dad would leave the child with the nurse and just use the time to sleep in the waiting room.   If an ER doc was to send baby home for ANY reason while the child was still cranky, the parents would surely lodge a complaint.  If it was by chance found that the child had an actual medical problem the parents would sue.  For some of these folks, litigation represented a meal ticket. 

We had one medicaid family with 7 kids.  They were in several times a week.  Each child had some rare, and chronic illness that no physician could diagnose.  At one point the mother had 4 separate lawsuits against the hospital.  She was very intelligent and it was obvious to us that many of the problems that her kids had were a result of Munchausen by proxy.  Finally we were able to catch her introducing "foreign matter" (don't ask) into her son's feeding tube and contacted DHS.  They investigated, and the hospital was sued again resulting in a significant settlement.  She continued to visit weekly, no hard feelings.

Ever wonder why ER docs always want to give you a $2,500 CAT scan every time you come in?  Thank a lawyer.

[Townsend]

That's actually quite true.  When I worked in the ER back in the late 80s and 90s, a significant portion of our "clients" were what we considered NO PAY.  They either had no identification, refused to give any, provided false information, or were simply broke.  They typically did not use the ER for emergency care, instead, they used it as a clinic and dispensary.  It was so prevalent that we had to set up a separate "FAST-TRACK" center.  Each night at around 12am we would get at least 6 "baby won't stop crying" charts.  BWSC's are expensive because even though we know it's colic, or an ear ache, or gas, the ER doc has to rule out everything from obstruction to injury, and baby's don't talk much. About half the time, we could just give the child some formula and he/she would go right to sleep while we performed a battery of tests, x-rays and examinations that required the services of at least 10 people. A BWSC can cost upwards of $1,000 that the hospital will never see. 

Our frequent flyers knew us by name and came in several times a week.  Sometimes mom and dad would leave the child with the nurse and just use the time to sleep in the waiting room.   If an ER doc was to send baby home for ANY reason while the child was still cranky, the parents would surely lodge a complaint.  If it was by chance found that the child had an actual medical problem the parents would sue.  For some of these folks, litigation represented a meal ticket. 

We had one medicaid family with 7 kids.  They were in several times a week.  Each child had some rare, and chronic illness that no physician could diagnose.  At one point the mother had 4 separate lawsuits against the hospital.  She was very intelligent and it was obvious to us that many of the problems that her kids had were a result of Munchausen by proxy.  Finally we were able to catch her introducing "foreign matter" (don't ask) into her son's feeding tube and contacted DHS.  They investigated, and the hospital was sued again resulting in a significant settlement.  She continued to visit weekly, no hard feelings.

Ever wonder why ER docs always want to give you a $2,500 CAT scan every time you come in?  Thank a lawyer.

So make them get insurance, right?

[Townsend]

Gov. Mary Fallin’s decision against Medicaid expansion rejects billions in federal aid

http://okpolicy.org/in-the-know-gov-fallin-rejects-billions-in-federal-aid

In deciding against expanding Medicaid in Oklahoma, Gov. Mary Fallin rejected an estimated $3.6 billion in federal funding over seven years, along with the argument that the additional money would generate jobs while improving the health of the poor. The governor’s office is already anticipating much higher Medicaid bills beginning in 2014 because the health care law’s individual mandate, the requirement that most people have health coverage, is expected to increase enrollment of thousands of Oklahomans who are currently eligible for the program but not participating. In fact, the costs associated with those people make up more than half of the $475 million in additional state obligations cited by Fallin on Monday when she announced her decision not to expand Medicaid eligibility to an estimated 200,000 uninsured adults.

Edited to add:

The majority of those earning between 133-400% of the Federal poverty level are working—without any safety net. They constitute ‘the working poor.’ They are not, as some suggest, “freeloaders.” Quite simply, those with Medicaid attain better health. The data proves it. Your alternative ‘plan’ of doing more of the same strikes me as both mean-spirited and inhumane to your fellow Oklahomans—whether they voted for you or not.

-Dr. John Schumann, an Oklahoma physician and medical educator, writing an open letter to Governor Fallin

[Townsend]

Oklahoma gets ‘D’ for preterm birth rate

http://okpolicy.org/in-the-know-gov-fallin-rejects-billions-in-federal-aid

Oklahoma has reduced its preterm birth rate to the lowest mark in five years but still received a grade of D on a recent report card from the March of Dimes. In 2011, Oklahoma had a preterm birth rate of 13.2 percent, a decrease from 13.9 percent in 2010. The national rate is 11.7 percent, which is the lowest in a decade. The grade given to each state is based on the March of Dimes 2020 goal of 9.6 percent. Dr. Lisa Owens, medical director of the neonatal intensive care unit at Peggy V. Helmerich Women’s Health Center, said health and socioeconomic factors lead to Oklahoma’s relatively high premature birth rate.

[Townsend]

According to an interview I'm listening to on NPR, our prisons would be covered by this medicaid extension if our governor had made a better decision.

That would've been some savings.

[nathanm]

Wow. Perhaps she was like me and didn't know that bit.