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Shrinking reimbursement from insurance threatening outlook for rural hospitals
cn|2 Pure Politics ^ | 12/8/2014 | Don Weber

Posted on 12/08/2014 7:30:20 PM PST by Republican Wildcat

LEXINGTON — Rural hospitals in Kentucky are facing some of the biggest challenges in their histories and some may be forced to close their doors state auditor Adam Edelen told the Kentucky Chamber on Monday.

Edelen, who will be releasing an audit on the plight on the states rural hospitals in January, told members of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce who were attending their annual legislative preview conference, that the difficult economy and managed care are the primary drivers of the difficulty in rural health care.

Generally, Medicare reimburses hospitals around 90 percent of cost while Medicaid reimbursement is around 80 percent.

“When some hospitals have 70 to 80 percent of their share being from government insurance, that isn’t manageable, it’s not sustainable over the long term because what it assumes is balance in the system where non-government insurance, that is private insurance that the people get from their employers, actually reimburses providers at above the rate of cost,” Edelen said.

Edelen also talked about what a rural hospital means in the areas that they serve from a business standpoint since many of them are the largest employer and provide the highest paying jobs in the areas that they serve.

“In every county that hospitals operate, they pay a significantly higher wage than is the county standard, Edelen said.

...

While conducting the audit, Edelen said he heard concerns from a number of people on the plight of rural hospitals and how their loss could have devastating effects on the areas that they serve.

(Excerpt) Read more at mycn2.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Political Humor/Cartoons; US: Kentucky
KEYWORDS: 0carenightmare; aca; medicaid; medicare; obamacare; obamacarehospitals; ruralhospitals
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1 posted on 12/08/2014 7:30:21 PM PST by Republican Wildcat
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To: Republican Wildcat

“root and branch” ping


2 posted on 12/08/2014 7:32:13 PM PST by dontreadthis
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To: Republican Wildcat

Another way to sock it to those Republican rubes out beyond city limits.


3 posted on 12/08/2014 7:32:39 PM PST by gusopol3
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To: Republican Wildcat

Sounds very Agenda-21-ish.

Also, perhaps this goes hand-in-hand with the plight of physician-owned hospitals, now a relic due to ØBolacare.


4 posted on 12/08/2014 7:34:15 PM PST by C210N (When people fear government there is tyranny; when government fears people there is liberty)
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To: Republican Wildcat

Health care deserts.


5 posted on 12/08/2014 7:36:23 PM PST by cripplecreek (You can't half ass conservatism.)
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To: Republican Wildcat

“.....it’s not sustainable over the long term because what it assumes is balance in the system where non-government insurance, that is private insurance that the people get from their employers, actually reimburses providers at above the rate of cost.”

I guess the rocket scientists have finally deduced the healthcare problem. “Free $hit,” isn’t really “Free” at all!

OTOH, from what I have seen, the HC “industry” is simply kiting the bill so that when they get paid, even by Medicare, they make out. Example: It took my 92 year-old mother five days in the hospital to die. Bill was $50,000. (That, in and of itself is a ripoff because they didn’t do anything but feed her Morphine and give her a bed.) Medicare “disallowed” all but $8,900. and paid 90% of that figure. I paid $980. out of her estate. So I guess if you have private insurance, you get the whole bill.


6 posted on 12/08/2014 7:40:51 PM PST by vette6387
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To: Republican Wildcat

embrace the bleed

:-(


7 posted on 12/08/2014 7:41:54 PM PST by SteveH
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To: Republican Wildcat

This all is within the plan of the Regressives who want us all to live in urban areas. This solves many one-driver automobile issues, high density housing that also frees up rural land for “nature”. You can look it up.


8 posted on 12/08/2014 7:43:20 PM PST by llevrok (I fear the US government more than I do al Qaeda)
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To: Republican Wildcat

This is only the intermediate step to government control. This is the step with government rules that cause private insurance and health care to go bankrupt. Then the state will swoop in to rescue us from private industry that does not work.


9 posted on 12/08/2014 7:51:24 PM PST by MtnClimber (Take a look at my FR home page for Colorado outdoor photos!)
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To: Republican Wildcat

Smaller hospitals are in trouble also because the feds are requiring them to get expensive electronic medical record software, costing sometimes millions of dollars, software that has no proven advantages in terms of patient outcomes, but certainly sucks the dollars away from the patient and out of the bottom line. By the way, these software companies are big Obama and Democrat donors. Yet again, Obama and the dems favor the corporatists over the little guy.


10 posted on 12/08/2014 8:13:29 PM PST by bkopto (Free men are not equal. Equal men are not free.)
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To: Republican Wildcat

Prepare for “cash only” medical care. There will be independent clinics (first aid and diagnosis only), mobile doctors who come to your home if needed, internet doctors (no office appointments or visits - 24 hours availability), self testing and diagnosis kits (with internet analysis and response), off-shore hospitals for hands on surgery, maybe remote surgery through the internet, and other replacements for health care and medical aid in the 21st century. Cash will be king until insurance coverage becomes affordable, if ever, once again. If you have the cash or a medical savings account, you might never need insurance.

Dream on, it will happen...


11 posted on 12/08/2014 8:16:57 PM PST by Texicanus (Texas, it's a whole 'nother country.)
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To: MtnClimber

The state will not have the money

I don’t know. I’m just not seeing it

May have been the plan. It also could have been just destroy everything about this country

They can’t even run the va hospital system

We are $18 trillion in debt. They’re not going to be able to run any kind of a system on middle class funding meant for the take it people

$6 to $12 thousand a year premiums with equally high deductibles?

I just got a $200 tv bill. Talked to the rep who wanted me to discuss reducing my ‘package’. From the basic. Talked to a mgr who wanted me to accept that my usage was high. That I was getting a lot for $200. No I’m not. The promotion ran out and my bill went up $60 per month

People must be paying a lot for TV, internet etc, autopsy. Not looking at it

But it will stop. When peoples medical is thousands per month for awhile and all out of pocket visits , tv, cars, gas, food, etc will come to a stop

No way the govt will be able to extract more than this

And from whom?

Millennialist owe more on college than I ever owed on mortgage or rent at their age.

And they have a double digit unemployment rate and a super low labor participation rate

Their ‘we love liberals’ days are over. But the GOP is worse, they’re behind the illegal swarm

And they will not be supporting this ridiculous medical plan

Ted Cruz was right at his stand up

So is levin

This government is worse than financially broke and they are inept

Obama just wants to wreck it


12 posted on 12/08/2014 8:26:23 PM PST by stanne
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To: stanne

Autopsy is auto pay


13 posted on 12/08/2014 8:30:16 PM PST by stanne
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To: stanne

the question is, are the trillions real money? I question whether enough real wealth in existence in any form equate to such a figure.


14 posted on 12/08/2014 8:31:30 PM PST by RitchieAprile
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To: RitchieAprile

Our kids owe $19 trillion. Do you want to ask them if it’s real money?

I don’t.

They’re getting pissed - and more and more so, as they see hundreds per pay cycle sucked out of their checks, and as they realize what kind of college debt they were allowed to incur.


15 posted on 12/08/2014 8:39:13 PM PST by stanne
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To: stanne

can the kids do the analysis? and if they can’t will they come after us in the afterlife?


16 posted on 12/08/2014 8:52:35 PM PST by RitchieAprile
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To: RitchieAprile

In the afterlife? Hmm...

In a manner of speaking, perhaps so.

‘Hell to pay’ is a saying coined not by fools.

Nevertheless, spoken like a true baby boomer, ripping off the kids.

It’s criminal what we’re doing to them.

They’ll have long forgotten who Obama is, by the time we’ll live to regret not having the gonads to stop this mess, unless we do so.


17 posted on 12/08/2014 9:04:28 PM PST by stanne
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To: llevrok

Don’t forget that forcing people into urban areas places them in peril from the democrat voter base. Protection from those core voters carries a higher price tag for added police and jails along with emergency medical services.


18 posted on 12/08/2014 9:18:42 PM PST by Sgt_Schultze (A half-truth is a complete lie)
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To: Republican Wildcat

Ha. This morning, an Obamabot was on Fox News citing KY as one of the wonderful places where Obamacare was working miracles. I guess not.


19 posted on 12/08/2014 9:20:29 PM PST by randita (Obama entrusted the transformation of the best healthcare system in the world to a scam artist.)
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To: bkopto

Just like the dodd frank scam to kill all the small banks and consolidate so the gov has better access and control so goes the rural hospitals and crap care design.


20 posted on 12/09/2014 3:35:13 AM PST by ronnie raygun (Empty head empty suit = arrogant little bastard)
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