A third of US hospitals are at risk of closing due to financial difficulties. The recent budget bill makes it worse.
Although Medicaid tends to get blamed, it's actually corporate greed that's the culprit, as usual:
"although the at-risk hospitals are losing money on uninsured patients and Medicaid patients, losses on private insurance patients are the biggest cause of overall losses."
(there's a graph, too)
Aaron
in reply to Aaron • • •Ah this piece in TIME gets into it, citing the same data, and also shows how the so called "health insurance" cartel makes things worse:
"Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, has an estimated 94% of the large-group private insurance market, which most people with private health insurance fall under. Hospitals can’t negotiate as well because they have to accept Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama patients, and losing those patients would be financially ruinous."
time.com/7298891/rural-hospita…