Comments on: Mayo Clinic Limits Medicare/Medicaid! http://sweetness-light.com/archive/mayo-clinic-hit-for-limiting-medicare-patients Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:34:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: proreason http://sweetness-light.com/archive/mayo-clinic-hit-for-limiting-medicare-patients#comment-163899 proreason Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:23:22 +0000 http://sweetness-light.com/archive/mayo-clinic-hit-for-limiting-medicare-patients#comment-163899 but but but but, I though the Mayo Clinic was the model for patriotic health care, like we are all going to have in about a month. Instead, it turns out those capitalist bastards actually expect to get paid for what they do. If I was a Mayo executive, I wouldn't be planning on any new yachts anytime soon. but but but but, I though the Mayo Clinic was the model for patriotic health care, like we are all going to have in about a month.

Instead, it turns out those capitalist bastards actually expect to get paid for what they do.

If I was a Mayo executive, I wouldn’t be planning on any new yachts anytime soon.

]]> By: Maethalion http://sweetness-light.com/archive/mayo-clinic-hit-for-limiting-medicare-patients#comment-163892 Maethalion Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:04:26 +0000 http://sweetness-light.com/archive/mayo-clinic-hit-for-limiting-medicare-patients#comment-163892 http://www.im.org/PolicyAndAdvocacy/PolicyIssues/Education/Funding/Pages/ActionAlertContactCongresstoStopIMECuts.aspx "Payment Cuts to Teaching Hospitals:Reductions to Medicare capital indirect medical education (IME) payments, which went into effect on Oct. 1[2009], will eliminate $1.3 billion over five years from payments to teaching hospitals. Despite numerous comment letters – from the AHA, 210 members of the U. S. House of Representatives and 51 members of the U.S. Senate – CMS moved forward with implementation of this rule. As a result, teaching hospitals in 2009 will receive half their capital IME adjustment; in 2010 and beyond, the adjustment is eliminated." This is why Mayo has dropped Medicare Patients. Medicare CUT PAYMENTS to teaching Hospitals (like Mayo!) http://www.im.org/PolicyAndAdv.....ECuts.aspx

“Payment Cuts to Teaching Hospitals:Reductions to Medicare capital indirect medical
education (IME) payments, which went into effect on Oct. 1[2009], will eliminate $1.3 billion
over five years from payments to teaching hospitals. Despite numerous comment letters
– from the AHA, 210 members of the U. S. House of Representatives and 51 members of
the U.S. Senate – CMS moved forward with implementation of this rule. As a result,
teaching hospitals in 2009 will receive half their capital IME adjustment; in 2010 and
beyond, the adjustment is eliminated.”

This is why Mayo has dropped Medicare Patients. Medicare CUT PAYMENTS to teaching Hospitals (like Mayo!)

]]> By: catie http://sweetness-light.com/archive/mayo-clinic-hit-for-limiting-medicare-patients#comment-163889 catie Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:07:21 +0000 http://sweetness-light.com/archive/mayo-clinic-hit-for-limiting-medicare-patients#comment-163889 Well my doctor told me she has about 3 1/2 years worth of loans to pay off and that if this passes she is getting out of medicine. Well my doctor told me she has about 3 1/2 years worth of loans to pay off and that if this passes she is getting out of medicine.

]]> By: pdsand http://sweetness-light.com/archive/mayo-clinic-hit-for-limiting-medicare-patients#comment-163866 pdsand Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:02:07 +0000 http://sweetness-light.com/archive/mayo-clinic-hit-for-limiting-medicare-patients#comment-163866 "Skeptics see the moves differently. As it is, they say, Mayo has been drawing a rarefied clientele by charging a premium to Medicare patients coming to Rochester from outside Minnesota. This month’s moves, they say, will result in a yet more affluent clientele, and given that Medicare costs correlate with poverty, Mayo’s spending data will look only better compared with others." More of the unspoken class warfare that underlies the "healthcare reform" debate. Plus I must be missing something. Is the theory being bandied about that a hospital that spends less per patient on medicare/medicaid is somehow doing its job better? Is that really what it's come down to? "We realize that medicare won't pay you enough to cover your costs. What we want to know now is how well you deal with that fact, and how much you have to come out of pocket to provide treatment to a medicare patient." And they can gather that data and expound on it with a straight face? “Skeptics see the moves differently. As it is, they say, Mayo has been drawing a rarefied clientele by charging a premium to Medicare patients coming to Rochester from outside Minnesota. This month’s moves, they say, will result in a yet more affluent clientele, and given that Medicare costs correlate with poverty, Mayo’s spending data will look only better compared with others.”

More of the unspoken class warfare that underlies the “healthcare reform” debate.

Plus I must be missing something. Is the theory being bandied about that a hospital that spends less per patient on medicare/medicaid is somehow doing its job better? Is that really what it’s come down to? “We realize that medicare won’t pay you enough to cover your costs. What we want to know now is how well you deal with that fact, and how much you have to come out of pocket to provide treatment to a medicare patient.” And they can gather that data and expound on it with a straight face?

]]> By: BillK http://sweetness-light.com/archive/mayo-clinic-hit-for-limiting-medicare-patients#comment-163863 BillK Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:20:02 +0000 http://sweetness-light.com/archive/mayo-clinic-hit-for-limiting-medicare-patients#comment-163863 This is not at all surprising. I've mentioned before that if you ask <b>any</b> physician, they'll tell you that Medicare and Medicaid don't reimburse at rates high enough to keep the lights on. Thus why private insurers are charged so much; the costs that Medicare/Medicaid won't pay must be made up <b>somewhere</b>. This is why under the Baucus plan, rates charged to private insurance will skyrocket. Under single payer, physicians' offices and hospitals will simply go out of business or severely ration care. Just like they already do in Canada and the UK. This is not at all surprising.

I’ve mentioned before that if you ask any physician, they’ll tell you that Medicare and Medicaid don’t reimburse at rates high enough to keep the lights on.

Thus why private insurers are charged so much; the costs that Medicare/Medicaid won’t pay must be made up somewhere.

This is why under the Baucus plan, rates charged to private insurance will skyrocket.

Under single payer, physicians’ offices and hospitals will simply go out of business or severely ration care.

Just like they already do in Canada and the UK.

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