Southern California ERs have closed in large part due to illegals swamping the services. At some point it always comes down to economics. Even non-profits can’t survive if they only lose money.
It’s not exactly cutting costs.
If you look at accident scenes over the past five years...huge growing tendency to call in the “chopper” and have the victims transported an hour away. So you could have an accident a mile from your house....wake up after the accident and realize that you have been moved 150 miles away. Cost for the chopper ride? If this was a twenty-mile deal...maybe around $6,000. But based on general reporting...it goes for average around $12,000 to $25,000.
Thinking that your health insurance will cover this? NO. Unless you have a five-star absolute gold program.....it won’t cover any part of that. This will come to your mailbox and deplete your savings rather quickly.
Think you got any choice about the matter, and demanding the truck rather than the chopper? In most rural areas....you have nutcases hanging out with the evacuation squad, and they get all peppy to call the chopper even if this was a minor fall and a broke leg.
So when your county hospital has shut down the ER....it’s a strong hint that they intend to pressure everyone to utilize the air ambulance, and steer business to the adjoining county hospital unit....and a quarter of that $25,000 will be put into the profits pot for the regional business operation. Again, the public simply doesn’t grasp the various ways we are being screwed on healthcare costs.
Ms ping
Another success story for ObamaCare.
“... sooner or later, you run out of other people’s money.”
My hometown. Born and grew up there. Relatives and friends still live there. Most go to Tupelo to the ER. I