tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2760353953251845523.post670056441269691355..comments2024-02-10T02:14:39.898-05:00Comments on Buckeye Surgeon: What happens when the safety net gets a hole?Jeffrey Parks MD FACShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15650563299849196122noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2760353953251845523.post-17010213473016052262008-08-23T21:41:00.000-04:002008-08-23T21:41:00.000-04:00A review found nearly 900 out-of-county residents ...A review found nearly 900 out-of-county residents in 2007, said Sarah Stamp, vice president of medical operations.<BR/><BR/>"We see a lot of patients who are seen at hospitals in the outlying counties. The patients will go to the ER and the doctors will tell them to get follow-up care at MetroHealth," said Barbara West, administrator of emergency and ambulatory services. "The doctors will state that."<BR/><BR/>And West said she knows why. The emergency-room doctors know the community doctors at out-of-county hospitals will not forgive their medical fees for the uninsured patients, she said.<BR/><BR/>An uninsured patient can walk into almost any emergency department and be seen. Federal law requires hospitals that receive Medicare funds -- which is nearly all of them -- to see all emergency-room patients and, at the very least, stabilize them.<BR/><BR/>And in Ohio, a program called the Hospital Care Assurance Program assesses hospitals and pools money collected from the hospitals with federal matching funds. The money is then redistributed to help hospitals cover the costs of treating the indigent.<BR/><BR/>But doctors aren't involved in this program and are under no federal obligation to take indigent patients. Uninsured patients have a difficult time getting an appointment with a private physician.<BR/><BR/>MetroHealth officials said most patients they're calling have chronic medical conditions that require frequent doctors' visits. Stamp said MetroHealth's free and reduced-cost care is a significant part of the bad debt the hospital writes off each year.<BR/><BR/>But the county-owned facility, which is partially supported by taxes from Cuyahoga County residents, can't be the hospital of last resort for all of Northeast Ohio. MetroHealth received $40 million this year from the county to help pay for care for the poor.<BR/><BR/>"We really want to support our mission and be here for the people of Cuyahoga County who are truly unable to pay, not just those unwilling to pay," West said.<BR/><BR/>A study published last week in the Annals of Internal Medicine reported that millions of uninsured Americans with chronic diseases get little or no medical treatment unless they show up at emergency departments.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2760353953251845523.post-51391406315393066532008-08-16T18:21:00.000-04:002008-08-16T18:21:00.000-04:00I am amazed at your reading list...Daily Kos? That...I am amazed at your reading list...Daily Kos? Thats reading?<BR/>Try Lucianne.com<BR/>you'll be more relaxed and better enlightened. <BR/>from one surgeon to anotherAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2760353953251845523.post-73850797630938007072008-08-12T12:31:00.000-04:002008-08-12T12:31:00.000-04:00All they have to do is move to North Carolina and ...All they have to do is move to North Carolina and claim Illegal Alien Status. Duke will even put you on the Transplant List, and if something goes wrong, John Edwards will handle your case, he's got plenty of spare time now a days.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2760353953251845523.post-25735218381460190682008-08-11T13:44:00.001-04:002008-08-11T13:44:00.001-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13982533500486854087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2760353953251845523.post-86357029105305363652008-08-11T13:44:00.000-04:002008-08-11T13:44:00.000-04:00Any ideas on how to fix the system? I'm not askin...Any ideas on how to fix the system? I'm not asking this sarcastically, either. I find it such a frustrating situation, I mean we can't expect hospitals and physicians to continue to operate for free, or no one will be able to afford to stay in business anymore, yet at the same time, how can healthcare providers, in good conscience turn away patients in desperate need of care due to ability to pay? It seems like such a vicious circle, with no real answers ( I personally don't see how universal healthcare is a feasible solution, unless they DRAMATICALLY lower the cost of medical education ). I was just wondering what your opinion is, as a surgeon in the field, facing already dwindling reimbursements.Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13982533500486854087noreply@blogger.com