Healthcare Systems Going Bust

There is a growing and disturbing trend occurring now across the country as Obamacare implementation takes hold. It is like a domino effect that will eventually lead to both the disembodiment of our healthcare system and its eventual economic collapse. With Medicare reimbursements declining, uninsured patients rising, and  high Obamacare deductibles going unpaid, hospitals are hanging on for dear financial life.

I’ll go further into some basic economics but first one of the scary trends going on in medicine is that hospitals are laying off employees. About 250 Crozer-Keystone Health System employees, including physicians and managers, were laid recently following the announcement that the health system has lost almost $16 million in the last seven months, according to system officials. This statistic may seem almost unbelievable or just to be an anomaly, but the truth is that most hospitals are watching their profits disappear.

You may ask how is that possible. Even on the Mike Church show, he was talking about the greed of the hospitals and some physicians. The simple truth is that because a large portion of patients entering a hospital are elderly and on Medicare and due to significant Medicare reimbursement cuts, an inpatient admission for a Medicare recipient is a money losing endeavor the the hospital. Plus, if the Medicare patient returns for any reason within 30 days, the hospital does not get paid for that admission.

Secondly, there has been a definite rise in the uninsured patient. Whether they are illegal aliens or just people down on their luck because of the bad economy, the numbers are rising. Again, the hospital ends up losing money for each of their admissions. Lastly, with the initiation of Obamacare, the hospitals are collecting even less. Because of the high deductibles, patients with this insurance are unable to pay for their hospital bill, creating another loss in the hospital’s overall revenue.

Taken together, hopefully you understand why we are now witnessing hospitals either going bankrupt or having massive layoffs. It’s not because the business isn’t there. As the population grows older, there is in fact a greater need for both hospitals and physicians. However, in a few years, will there be any physicians or hospitals left to take care of anybody?