Posted on 10/02/2011 6:25:01 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Washington state is preparing to limit Medicaid coverage of emergency room visits for non-emergency care.
State officials have notified clients that they will get coverage for only three of those visits each year starting Saturday. Additional visits will not be covered, and patients may be billed for that care.
(Excerpt) Read more at khq.com ...
>>To fix it, the hospitals need to set up triage nurses at the door.<<
I would LOVE this. And here’s a way to get around lawsuits, have a “minute clinic” set up nearby. Toothache, broken toe, tummy ache, send them over to the clinic. One could staff the clinic 24 hours a day and it would still cost less than the ER because most of the easy stuff could be handled by an RN.
If you are in a car crash, you would be treated, it just may not be free of charge, especially if all those other times you went to the ER for a cold or stubbed toe.
See my post above, my grandddaughter was taken to the ER and was told to come back at noontime. There were people sitting there bleeding they were told the same thing. She was directed by her Pedi to go there, the hours had been changed in the ER and not only did my daughter and son in law not know about it but the doctor himself didn’t even know. They had to take her to another ER across town.
Based upon your ER experience you may want to consider moving to another city.
I have been to ER for friends or family or myself about 10 times in the past 10 years and our ER was much faster. The longest wait may have been 30 minutes.
Yep. Even if it is just a short distance.
Not at the hospital my daughter took my granddaughter. They have specific hours on weekends for emergencies, if your emergency is not between noon and 5 you are not seen no matter what the issue is, period.
>>What happens if you’re in a car crash after 5pm on Saturday nite?? Big Whoop? Can’t exactly wait til the next day now can ya.<<
Isn’t a car crash an emergency?
If it isn’t an emergency, big whoop. Wait.
I live in BOSTON, what other city do you suggest I live in?
What hospital is it?
Did you not read what I said about my granddaughter??? It WAS an emergency and she was turned away because the docs and nurses don’t come on duty til noon time.
I live in a Conservative City in Florida.
That might explain why ER is better in our city than in Socialist Boston.
Many people use the emergency room for their doctor. The hospital then files for payment under Medicaid because the patient is uninsured and has no money.
Of course the hospital isn’t allowed to turn them away. So what they are really saying is emergency room care is now free.
Especially if the only way to get into the building is with a "subscrition card" that they have to pass in front of a scanner at the entry door.
None of this walk up to the Emergency entry and the doors whisk open automatically.
Some other city without Romneycare
You know what? After seeing bills for $12 for a bandaid, boo hoo to the hospital
The hospitals have to charge that much in order to recover from medicare low-ball payments and illegals gaming the system. In the end we all end up paying.
Pardon me, but if that is the case, if you got in an auto accident, you are dead if it doesn’t happen during open hours. I can’t quite believe that would be the case.
My best guess is that they take real emergencies anytime, but are trying to discourage those that are actually there for a doctor visit.
I went to the emergency room a couple of days before Christmas. I was admitted, given pain medicine and in an examining room within 30 mins. Had blood drawn shortly thereafter and moved to a general admission room within an hour.
Of course I did have to stay there for about 8 hours until they got me stable enough for a normal room.
They were even so bad they did surgery on me at 6pm Christmas Eve and forced me to accept a really talented (and cute) nurse to watch me in the ICU. My own dedicated cute nurse, it was terrible. The good drugs helped me through it.
>>It WAS an emergency and she was turned away because the docs and nurses don’t come on duty til noon time.<<
What was her emergency?
Did she have broken bones or was she bleeding?
You said she made it in to an ER across town. Sounds more like miscommunication. Her Pediatrician didn’t know the hours had changed. If she had been in bad shape at the scene, she would have been transported by ambulance to an open ER.
As it was, the parents had time to call the Pediatrician who told them to go to an ER, (standard answer when the Peds office is not open). The ER had specific hours. Not that there was NO ER to go to, just one that was not as convenient.
Sounds okay to me.
What hospital was it?
>>My best guess is that they take real emergencies anytime, but are trying to discourage those that are actually there for a doctor visit<<
Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!!!!
The granddaughter was seen at a different ER. I betcha if an ambulance pulled in, the patient would be taken in and seen.
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