Each time I started to type a comment about the reimbursement issues with government run health care plans (past, present & future), I'd have to leave to go to a meeting and by the time I got back people had veered off into other sub-topics so it didn't fit in. The comments have been very interesting, sometimes silly, but check out
the original poop sandwich post.
This post is really for BMar, who ambushed me on gIM to talk about this. Well, it started with "Please defend The Brah's inanity on AMDAL. thx" (since all us Republicans think alike, right?), but he did use his please and thank you's so that was nice of him :) In the end, I promised him I'd put this up and I'm a girl of my word.
The purpose of this post is to give an explanation of one side of the debate many people don't know about or that has been left out of the mainstream coverage, but please read it with the following things in your minds and hearts (awww):
1) No one is against decreasing the public good or equal opportunities or coverage provided. Everyone wants every person in America to be healthy and if they're not, to be taken care of with the best care possible.
2) We owe it all to each other to stop making it a red/blue/tea party thing, because it’s not. No matter who’s in the majority or who’s in office, the debate is the same on health care and is going to be around for a long, long time (probably forever). Truce?
3) Everyone has had great points- go AMDALers! I’m not putting this up here to promote comments about iron in the drinking water, or MacDonalds, or anything else. This post is to start talking about the numbers since it is something people have asked for more info about.
4) Please read the rest of this without thinking that insurance companies and hospitals are run by money grubbing evil individuals who sit in our offices on thrones made of dollar bills. If they were, then it would be awesome for me (j/k). It's very, very far from the truth. Health care is a business, and as a business you have to work with money and raise/bank revenue in order to be able to function past a one-day-at-a-time mentality. If you do not, you will not stay in business. It is not a matter of good versus evil- it's one of financial planning and budgeting. The health care industry is laying off staff at insurance companies & provider facilities, filing legislation to allow plans to be national versus state-to-state to lower the cost to those on the plans and make it a more affordable for everyone, suing to have the government plans be paid on a state-by-state basis (explanation of why below), and working with pharmaceutical companies to help offset the cost of medications (Americans pay for Europe's low cost meds but that's a whole different post in itself). Keep in mind that about 13 million people in the American work force are in health care/insurance related jobs- they can't pay their bills with chits for each good deed or life saved each day or else they probably would... They need to be paid in real American dollars.
So, let's get to it!
(Below is based off of what I am knee deep in daily, at one of the largest and most comprehensive, multi-campus, non-profit hospitals in the country, and ironically, is also the largest private-sector employer in NYC (due to the crash of banks/layoffs on Wall Street). This has put us in two different groups that will be impacted by the new bill: one as a corporation/ large-business and the other as a hospital... oh and it's pretty long so prepare yourself.)
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