The Future of Health Care?
October 25th, 2006 | by Ken Grandlund |City officials in Los Angeles have been investigating a troubling trend among area hospitals for at least the last three months. It seems that some hospitals are discharging patients and then dropping them off on the streets of Skid Row. And it’s not just homeless patients getting the boot. This past weekend, at least 5 people were transported from Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center via ambulance to Skid Row even though some had families waiting for them at home. It seems that ‘patient dumping’ is the latest incarnation of medical care in America.
But even worse than the patient dumping is the fact that LA’s Skid Row is experiencing a rash of deadly staph infections, a problem well documented yet ignored by county health officials. Staph infections among Skid Row residents are being passed to healthy county safety workers and charitable organizaton workers who come into contact with infected people. Imagine what a staph infection means to a recently discharged hospital patient with a compromised or weakened immunity system?
Investigations are beginning now that police have video evidence of this practice, including some video testimony of dumped patients.
Is this the future of health care in America?
[tag]health+care, hospital+dumps+patients, Skid+Row[/tag]
8 Responses to “The Future of Health Care?”
By Craig R. Harmon on Oct 25, 2006 | Reply
Hopefully that’s not the future of health care in this country. I can’t find it now but I read an article yesterday about a hospital that, in order to reduce costs, is trying out a program of providing free basic health care to indigent people who, otherwise, burden the hospitals with health problems which, because they cannot afford regular health care, show up with serious health problems at the emergency room. It was one hospital and it was a trial program and may have been only in the proposed stage but it is a positive experiment. Not a replacement for affordable health care or affordable health care insurance but it’s better than this story of yours.
By Craig R. Harmon on Oct 25, 2006 | Reply
Found the link.
By SteveIL on Oct 25, 2006 | Reply
LA, Frisco, Chicago, Denver, and a whole lot of other cities, and almost all controlled by Democratic city and county governments (like LA), are all sanctuary cities regarding illegal aliens; meaning, these city governments will not do a thing to stem the tide of illegal aliens coming into their cities (heavily fining employers of illegal aliens, heavily fining those who rent property to illegal aliens, deporting illegal aliens who commit serious misdemeanors, etc.). The Supreme Court has ruled that anybody living in this country, even a child of illegal aliens, is legally allowed to be in the public education system and receive emergency health care (or abuse the emergency care facilities for non-emergency health matters, further overburdening already overburdened emergency care workers and resources), all on the taxpayers’ dimes through Medicare, Medicaid, and whatever local taxes that get steered for these things. In many cases, the healthcare provider ends up eating the cost instead of waiting for the payback by the various levels of government, and then raises their prices on the insurance companies (who then raise their premium rates on people like me) or those who can afford to pay out of pocket. All without the benefit of getting the appropriate tax revenues (if any) from the illegal aliens. Again, these city governments refuse, REFUSE, to handle their illegal alien problems. Mostly because they want their votes.
I don’t know any of the details about the incident you cite, or even if it is related to what I said; it may not be. But if it is, then my answer to your question would be yes. For the reasons I stated in the prior paragraph.
By Jersey McJones on Oct 25, 2006 | Reply
Americans spend twice per capita on a healthcare system that is no better than that of Europe.
That proves it. It’s a failure. Single payor is better - cost wise and care wise. Period.
JMJ
By ken grandlund on Oct 25, 2006 | Reply
Craig- Thanks for the link and the hopeful story. I wish more hospitals would look at this program. Sadly, that’s not at all what my post was about. Although some of the ‘dumped’ patients are indigent, the practice seems to stem more from lack of effort on the part of these hospitals than anything else. Well, that and a clear lack of compassion or professional common sense.
SteveIL- Not disagreeing with you regarding the expense of illegal immigration to our health care system, but again, this post is dealing with American citizens being dumped in Skid Row instead of being discharged to family or even a proper homeless shelter. But any way you look at it, this patient dumping practice is not what you would expect from America or our health care system.
By Paul L. Kamonda on Oct 25, 2006 | Reply
Medicare is not and never was welfair. You pay for it and I pay for it out of our pay check as do we pay for SSI. The Medical Schools and student get the free ride. We could have a very good medical insurance plan out of Medicare but only way it would work is if every one was on the plan. Most person are unawere that for every dollar put into Medicare or SSI (FICA) must be match by the Employer. So with the 163 million employees working making a National mean earning of $33,000. per year (7% of $33,000. per year and double it times 163 million) that is a lot of money $1 + trillion dollar per year. What does it cost the people who pay for there health insurnce for there family each if they can get health insurance. At 7% + 7% from employer come to like $90. per week going into the Medicare for a person making $33,000 per year. Most Americans are affraid of math or just to dum to do it. Some one tills them SSI is going broke, You tell me how when it takes in $1+trillion every year and pays out $400 million a year. Also in 2035 when it is suppose to be broke at the rate of growth of USA there will be 300 million working and national mean income will be at least $66,000. per year with $2+trillion going into SSI trust fund each year.
If there is no money in the Health care business explain to me how come lot of Health care Insurance companies are going into the HMO business. The whole idea to them is get the most and pay out the least. As for the big scare over the SSI going broke. yours and mine Congressman just want to get there hands on the SSI Trust fund. Yes they brough from it but they must put in place of the money US Saveing Bonds which come to the National Debit. 60/80% is to you and I out of that fund. The Ferderal Reserve Bank does not want to pay the interest on it so they leaned it back to our Govnerment. We allow our Congressmen to change the law they will have all that money and yes the fund will be broke by 2035. That Fund is somewhere around $8+trillion right now.
Think about it. Do the Math. Then be prepared for the big LIE. They will run the SSA like they run Medicare right now. If Medicare is setup on the same way FDR setup SSA then we can have a National Health Plan that the rest of the world would want also. Also they must setup Reginal Hospital based on distance or population in a give area. These Reginal Hospital will set the medical rates and what a Doctor can charge. The employer can offer or give supplemental insurance for extra care as a employment incentive. but all employers, ALL!!! must be on the Federal Health plan. The plan should be run by the SSA department.
Person should get it clear, if one pays for it it is not welfair. In 1929 crash some 30 million person lost there life saving and older Americans where starving and freezing to death in the 30’s. Since then we all been paying FICA except Railroad, Federal, and some others. All employees should be on SSI and if a National Health plan then that also.
By SteveIL on Oct 25, 2006 | Reply
ken, you said:
I read the NPR and the San Diego Union-Tribune pieces and nowhere do they say whether the people being dumped are American citizens or not, or even if they are legal or illegal aliens. Yes, the practice is terrible. Regarding the NPR report, there’s a bunch of stuff that, to me, seem to be missing. Now, I’m not from the LA area, so I don’t know the detailed geography of the region, but this is what I get out of it:
Carol Reyes is a homeless person from Gardena, CA, 12 miles south of LA. She goes (or is transported) to Kaiser Permanente hospital in Bellflower, CA, less than two miles from the Community Hospital of Gardena (Google search for gardena, ca hospitals and Mapquest). Since she is homeless, and was disoriented when found by the lady at the mission in LA, how would the medical people know where to release her? They are not a hotel and need to be able to have enough room to handle other emergencies. Could they have sent her the couple of miles to the Gardena hospital a couple of miles away? Maybe, provided they have room, but that didn’t come out. This may come out in the investigation. Maybe a homeless shelter? It wasn’t reported whether there are any in either Gardena or Bellflower.
Looking at this story, and it is a bad one, we know that hospitals in southern CA are very much overburdened due to their local government’s mismanagement of illegal aliens, and hospitals are required to provide emergency services, regardless of citizen status or employment. Blaming hospitals at the outset of the story might seem right, and may be shown to be right in many of these cases. But I think the big issue is how none of these cities, especially LA, is dealing well with their homeless problem or their illegal alien problem.