Healthcare Job Losses

The healthcare industry is seeing a slow but steady stream of job losses almost everywhere. Medicare is cracking down. They're limiting patient readmits within 30 days of previous hospital/clinic discharge. Medicare refuses payment so the hospital eats the bill. Medicare is  reducing procedure and provider reimbursements (pay). Medicare is cutting reimbursements for durable medical equipment so families are left scrambling for dwindling medical equipment sources. Etc...

The sequester is driving some of it. In the end, hospitals and clinics can't afford to keep staff. And some hospital departments are closing (ER, OB/GYN, and pediatric). And some hospitals are closing and/or merging. The same issues are happening with home health, hospice, and durable medical equipment companies. Docs are getting out of the business or eliminating medicare patients. Of course that reduces office staff.

Maybe it's all just right sizing. No doubt there's a healthcare bubble out there. Healthcare is broken and taxpayers continue to get ripped off.

What will finally push people to the streets. There's so many issues today but still no hint of a ground swell.

Here's some healthcare layoff news from the last 4 days:

http://triblive.com/news/westmoreland/4352800-74/excela-health-system#axzz2Z2NMKx6M
http://www.kansas.com/2013/07/13/2886494/hunter-health-clinic-faces-financial.html
http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Layoffs-announced-at-Danbury-New-Milford-4660249.php
http://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2013/07/baystate_franklin_announced_cutbacks_bla.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2013/07/11/duke-raleigh-hospital-lays-off-27.html
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/7/11/medical-school-custodians-contract/
http://mccracken.kfvs12.com/news/news/88323-lourdes-consolidate-affects-29-jobs

Oncology groups are turning away cancer patients as medicare reimbursement cuts make it unprofitable to give chemotherapy. They aren't giving the best and most expensive chemo related to the sequester. They say it's a matter of staying in business.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/04/03/cancer-clinics-are-turning-away-thousands-of-medicare-patients-blame-the-sequester/

My dad who just started his Medicare benefits finds that finding physicians who will see "new" Medicare patients are few and far between. Many are dropping providing care and participating with Medicare. Leaving few if any physician choices.

If the country is really $h!Tt!ng a brick over $85 billion in cuts. Mind you these cuts amount to 14% of new debt spending, or 2% of the annual total spend of $3.6 trillion.

Imagine what would happen if our government didn't spend any more than it took in tax revenue. Crazy idea, actually controlling finances responsibly.

My wife works in the health care industry and as we've discussed between ourselves, she's over compensated for her job. Mind you she may average 15 hours a week in a good week, still her compensation is very considerate for her role. Just can't image where she could perform a similar role now in a non-health care related industry and get paid the hourly rate she receives now.

I was reading up on what the government covers for medicare part A (hospital stays) and it's pretty staggering. I'm sure the reimbursements are lower than normal but they cover 100% for up to 60 days in the hospital. Our nanny, from 11 years ago, is sadly in the hospital for surgical treatment of abdomen cancer (metastatic). It's advanced. I was surprised they opted for surgical treatment. She has no money so outpatient care will be challenging as she'll need to pay the medicare 20% out of pocket plus medicare deductibles.

My father had a similar hospital stay. Thus after the bills started rolling in for his portion that Medicare didn't cover. He's itemizing the invoices for all the particulars.

He found a charge from one doctor for a consultation $430. My dad stated the doctor came into his room one time, for at best 2 minutes. Now the doctor might, unknown however, have done something outside of the room for my dad, but the premise is there. Heath care for people that aren't wealthy sucks.

Let me know when our politicians who signed us up for all this crap forgo their full coverage government plan.

Anyone seeing how Big Union is turning against ObamaCare....they just HAD to have this clown and now they are bitching that when the circus came to their town, the clown pissed on them too.

BWAAAHHHAAAAAWWAAAAHHAAAAAA!!!

They paid for, voted for and blindly supported this fool and he's arse raping them along with the rest of us.

Change you can believe in!!!!!