Liberal politicians never fail to scream about the “record
profits” of oil companies, but you’ll never hear them complain about big
hospitals. The profit margin for the
integrated oil and gas industry is 7.9%.
Nationally in 2010, big hospital recorded a 9.3% profit margin. In North Carolina, Duke Hospital pulled in a
20.1% profit margin. Now, that’s an eye
opener. Here are a few reasons why:
In North
Carolina’s cities, these hospitals are piling up profits, along with billions
of dollars in reserves. An investigation by The News & Observer and The
Charlotte Observer found that:
• UNC Hospitals
and Duke University Health System recently booked record profits. Duke’s total
profit, which includes investment income, rose to a half-billion dollars in
2011, a margin of 20.1 percent.
• They’ve made
their money largely from employer-sponsored health insurance, often inflating
prices on drugs and procedures – sometimes to three, four or 10 times over
costs. North Carolina hospital costs are more than 10 percent higher than the
national average for Aetna, said Jarvis Leigh, a network vice president.
• They’ve hiked
their fees each year, leaving many patients with crippling debt. Some hospitals
have sued thousands of patients, while others have turned to collection
agencies to pursue debtors.
• They’ve
plowed their profits into expensive buildings and machines and have rewarded
executives with generous salaries. Twenty-five executives of public and
nonprofit hospitals in North Carolina had total compensation of more than
$1 million in 2010 or 2011, the most recent data available.
• They’ve solidified
their market power by stashing billions of dollars for future purchases. Duke,
for example, has reserves of $1.5 billion. In Charlotte, Carolinas HealthCare
System has banked more than $2 billion
Another factor
in soaring health care cost is a third-party payer system. Hospitals make up the losses for Medicaid and
Medicare patients by overinflating their prices onto the insured. Also, patients are removed from the decision
making process. That ultimately leads to
unnecessary testing and questionable billing practices.
What is amazing
is that these same hospitals are demanding that North Carolina legislators
approve the expansion of Medicaid. Why
is that? Could it be to drive
independent practitioners out of business and into their all-encompassing
rubric?
Many
independent physicians can’t keep their doors open because of the low
reimbursement rates of Medicaid and Medicare, while at the same time compete
with the predatory practices of big hospitals.
Independents are retiring, or joining the behemoths.
Consolidation
almost always leads to higher prices. And
Obamacare certainly will contribute to the cost. Here is an excerpt from the News and Observer
stating just that:
With the 2010
passage of the Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration aims to control
health care costs.
Some experts,
however, fear the law – under review at the U.S. Supreme Court – could wind up
doing the opposite. The law calls for the creation of networks of hospitals,
doctors and other medical providers. But that sort of consolidation, studies
have shown, almost always leads to higher prices.
With mergers
and acquisitions, some hospital systems have become so large and dominant that
they can easily raise their prices.
Increasingly,
the Triangle is dominated by three expanding hospital systems: Duke, UNC and
WakeMed.And isn’t that what Obamacare is about? Consolidating services and resources into one giant monstrosity? And as we’ve seen with the politicians and bureaucrats in Washington D.C. cost is of no concern to the totalitarians, particularly when they want to control it.
Source:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/22/2016905/north-carolinas-urban-hospitals.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Consumer-Energy-Report/2012/0427/Are-the-oil-companies-gouging-gas-prices
No comments:
Post a Comment