Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

30% of All Rural Hospitals in the US Are at Risk of Closing [pdf]

ruralhospitals.chqpr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 163 posts

Re: 30% of All Rural Hospitals in the US Are at Risk of Closing [pdf]

#91

Post by rayiner »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #6

I don't know how you can realistically look at this without thinking of the "I never thought leopards would eat MY face!!" meme. Politics matters. Voters in rural areas (generally, of course) have consistently voted against policies that would help support health care in these rural locations, such voting in politicians who are staunchly against Obamacare, who refuse any expansion or even adequate support for Medicai…

Except rural hospitals in blue states that expanded Medicaid, etc., are also at risk of closure: https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/631-rural-hosp....

For example, 41% of rural hospitals in New York are at risk of closing, similar to the 38% in Florida, and a lot more than the 18% in Kentucky. Solid blue Washington is at 33%, worse than Iowa or Indians at 24 and 21%. Idaho, which you call out specifically, is only at 7%.

It’s quite interesting that your first reaction was to demonize rural voters for political choices, in the absence of any data supporting that assumption.

Re: 30% of All Rural Hospitals in the US Are at Risk of Closing [pdf]

#92

Post by [deleted] »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #6

I don't know how you can realistically look at this without thinking of the "I never thought leopards would eat MY face!!" meme. Politics matters. Voters in rural areas (generally, of course) have consistently voted against policies that would help support health care in these rural locations, such voting in politicians who are staunchly against Obamacare, who refuse any expansion or even adequate support for Medicai…

[deleted]

Re: 30% of All Rural Hospitals in the US Are at Risk of Closing [pdf]

#93

Post by pkaye »

cheeseomlit wrote: post #52
jorblumesea wrote: post #9

Can we please just implement some level of universal healthcare. The fact that healthcare is tied directly to payers, who fight over how to much to pay, is ridiculous. Imagine your local hospital shutting down because the hospital charged $50 for aspirin but the insurer wanted $40.

If you take an industry cornered by an entrenched cartel and then socialize it as-is you are only cementing their control over it even further, making a healthy competitive market impossible. Prices are criminally exorbitant now, what makes you think they'll go down when the government is the one paying them? If history is anything to go by the effect will be the opposite

The UK NHS is able to use its monopsony powers to keep the pay for doctors and nurses extremely low. Doctors would need a 35% pay raise to bring it back to the 2008 level of pay. Many of them are looking to leave for Australia or Canada. Even US is considered but they would have do the residency over.

https://i.redd.it/enukl0ljqk1b1.jpg

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/14/business/junior-doctors-strik...

Re: 30% of All Rural Hospitals in the US Are at Risk of Closing [pdf]

#94

Post by searine »

vel0city wrote: post #64
searine wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It’s really interesting how the US has managed to get a health system that’s extremely expensive, doesn’t cover everybody, is highly bureaucratic and complex, delivers below average outcomes and has overworked hospital staff. Well, most of Europe' social welfare systems were wiped out by the end of 1945 and were then rebooted with forethought and precedent of what not to do. The US is an archaic hodgepodge of system…

Eh, most of the current designs in the US healthcare industry has its roots with the move to employer-sponsored healthcare in the 1940s (see: 1942 Stabilization Act and it's consequences). Private health insurance was barely a thing in the 1920's and pretty much didn't exist before then.

I generally agree. As I said, it was a hodgepoge, with no one solution covering the nation. Lots of proposals for more comprehensive solutions but nothing ever with enough momentum to make it into law.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_health_care_reform_...

Or if that wiki is wrong, feel free to correct it.

Re: 30% of All Rural Hospitals in the US Are at Risk of Closing [pdf]

#95

Post by i2cmaster »

sidr wrote: post #81
cheeseomlit wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Obamacare won't fix it because it's a gutted compromise. Universal healthcare (which is the only way to get around private insurers not paying out, and not tying healthcare spending to income) is a non starter in this country and it's entirely due to one political faction. It's accurate to blame them for this.

[flagged]

Re: 30% of All Rural Hospitals in the US Are at Risk of Closing [pdf]

#96

Post by bombcar »

tristanb wrote: post #77
jorblumesea wrote: post #9

Can we please just implement some level of universal healthcare. The fact that healthcare is tied directly to payers, who fight over how to much to pay, is ridiculous. Imagine your local hospital shutting down because the hospital charged $50 for aspirin but the insurer wanted $40.

Its also incredibly expensive (500k) to become a doctor.

Maybe we need something like the Army, where you can join up, qualify, get trained to be a doctor for free, and all you have to do is serve out your term at army wages until you're 45, then you're retired and free to do whatever doctoring you want wherever.

It's how we get a lot of our airline pilots, after all.

Re: 30% of All Rural Hospitals in the US Are at Risk of Closing [pdf]

#97

Post by [deleted] »

ethanbond wrote: post #17
explaininjs wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there any country with a medical system that people don't complain about? For instance is there anyone in the world that would agree: "Gee, my healthcare is so cheap, it's surprising that it covers everything I want it to without me needing to go out of my way to justify my treatment options and I have so many medical professionals available to me at a moments notice!"

The NHS is one of the most beloved institutions on the planet AFAICT. Of course everyone would prefer if everything were better all the time, but complaints about the US system and clearly not on the same plane as those about UK’s.

[deleted]

Re: 30% of All Rural Hospitals in the US Are at Risk of Closing [pdf]

#98

Post by zamnos »

Eisenstein wrote: post #68
DevX101 wrote: post #44

One other factor triggering closures in the article: private equity companies have been on a buying spree for hospitals. The strategy is to buy the hospital, sell the land to a real estate co, and have the hospital pay exorbitant rates to lease the land. After they’ve extracted maximal value, the hospitals that can’t afford the lease are forced to close. Hospital execs get paid large bonuses for agreeing to deals lik…

> Hospital execs get paid large bonuses By whom?

By hospitals who "can't afford" to pay their nurses more.

Re: 30% of All Rural Hospitals in the US Are at Risk of Closing [pdf]

#99

Post by oatmeal1 »

rqtwteye wrote: post #2

It’s really interesting how the US has managed to get a health system that’s extremely expensive, doesn’t cover everybody, is highly bureaucratic and complex, delivers below average outcomes and has overworked hospital staff. And somehow people defend this system because it works fine for the top few percent (especially the people in Congress) and people who have Medicare or VA.

VA works for those not on the secret waiting lists, at least.

Re: 30% of All Rural Hospitals in the US Are at Risk of Closing [pdf]

#100

Post by Ensorceled »

explaininjs wrote: post #8
rqtwteye wrote: post #2

It’s really interesting how the US has managed to get a health system that’s extremely expensive, doesn’t cover everybody, is highly bureaucratic and complex, delivers below average outcomes and has overworked hospital staff. And somehow people defend this system because it works fine for the top few percent (especially the people in Congress) and people who have Medicare or VA.

Is there any country with a medical system that people don't complain about? For instance is there anyone in the world that would agree: "Gee, my healthcare is so cheap, it's surprising that it covers everything I want it to without me needing to go out of my way to justify my treatment options and I have so many medical professionals available to me at a moments notice!"

> Is there any country with a medical system that people don't complain about?

Yes, we complain about our medical system, especially as several provinces are pushing to privatize the system.

But, after the belly-aching, we all agree that at least our system in not an exploitative gong show like the US system.

Post reply on HN