Non-Profit Hospitals Are Making a Killing

FEE ^ | July 26, 2019 | Richard Menger

[Sequoyah101]

7% of GDP in 1970 and 20% now. Sounds like a big problem to me. Bigger than the military industrial complex we were warned to fear. This time much of it is owned and operated by the Catholic Church with managers paid $17,000,000 or more per year.

Do a little reading on Ascesion Health. The organization sounds more like mafia to me.

Hospitals should not have any need to advertise. Medicine should not have a reason to advertise and yet they do. Massively. The merciless sisters that operate the mercy system also out of St. Louis are fairly out in the streets of prosperous areas dragging anybody they can find with insurance in the doors for something that must be wrong with them. Their building programs are the biggest in the area. They must be making money somewhere to pay for all this. I guarantee the Catholic Church isn’t funding the construction out of the goodness of their hearts and civic responsibility.

If we have the best medical system in the world why is our life expectancy going down? It may be the best health care money can buy, and I doubt money buys the best health care, but who can afford it?

[Sequoyah101]

Written by a Neurosurgeon and MPA. My guess is he knows what he is talking about. What a mess.

[jimtorr]

I am glad you are happy with your doctor.

That was kind of my point, before I got sidetracked on DOs. I haven't seen a doctor in two years, just PAs in the final phase of their training, sort of a cross between an intern and a resident doctor. It's a good thing I'm basically healthy.

A DOs training is every bit as rigorous as an MDs, and they can and do work side by side, doing the same things. They all become hacks and quacks on their own initiative, or lack thereof.

[leaning conservative]

Thank you.

[amihow]

Totally disagree with you. Almost every word in article is true. The medical system as a business model hurts doctors and patients. Banner is case in point in doctors and patients I know about.

[NorthMountain]

That’s nice.

The choice of terminology is manipulative. If it were all true, the manipulative language would be superfluous. I think you’re missing the point. The author is using manipulative propaganda techniques. I therefore suspect that his point is not as strong as he’d like me to believe.

He probably thinks he’s strenghtening his point by use of manipulative language. In fact, he’s putting his point into disrepute.

[Chickensoup]

So true. The biggest money is in hosptial conglomerates around here.

Never donate.

[GOPJ]

...sincerely pose the question: Are these non-profits truly working for patients, or are they navigating and molding the system’s rules to ensure their greatest possible piece of the health care pie? In 2018, the American Hospital Association lobbying arm donated $23,937,842 in political contributions. I sincerely doubt that was to advance their healing mission.

Richard Menger understands the scam - and the toxic incentives that keep it going...

[Chickensoup]

However, the non-profit hospitals in Surgeon A’s local area are consolidating and purchasing primary care groups. They are intentionally doing that to increase their income. The hospital, which now owns the marketplace of insured patients, mandates self-referral inside its own network.

______________________

mandated self referral used to be illegal.

[amihow]

Your critique of author's language style can cause people to dismiss truth of content which may be your intent.

I do not care about style, I care if story is substantively true. And in my experience it is.

You must be into health care stocks.t

[NorthMountain]

The authors choice of language can cause people to dismiss his content.

The problem is with the author, not with me.

I care if story is substantively true.

When an author chooses to use manipulative, emotionally loaded language to support his point, reasonable people will suspect that the author is not being entirely honest. Big Media use this technique regularly to support their claims, as do Democrat Party politicians.

You must be into health care stocks

I see that you, as well as the author, prefer illogical argument. My investment choices (of which you know less than nothing) have absolutely no bearing on the author's choice to use manipulative language.

You're defending the indefensible.

[Let's Roll]

I’ve had 2 good DOs in a row. One literally changed, if not saved, my life by ordering the right tests when all I had been getting was platitudes from the MD I was seeing.

[amihow]

You can’t get a joke.

You focus on style rather than substance.

Bottom line you so far refuse to focus on the truth or falsity of the post.

Let’s hang it up .

[GailA]

You can add bad treatment of patients to the list.

We have 3 hospitals within a 30 min driving distance, none of which I’d take my 2 dogs to. #1 is Covington Baptist, Horrible place. #2 Methodist North, located in a high crime/Drug zone where they smoke Weed in front of the Hospital while waiting to be treated or on someone being treated. #3 St Francis, when you are the ONLY patient in the ER you know it SUCKS. This is Memphis and Tipton County hospitals. You can’t get near the 1 public hospital The Regional Medical Center as it’s a Mexican’s doctor’s office now.

The only parts that actually work are the Elvis Presley Trauma Unit, and the NIC U. Tops for all 3 states. Problem is getting MS and AK to pay their Medicaid payments. The MED is a Public Hospital.