Effective October 1, 2012, Obama-care’s Affordable Healthcare Act delivers on one of its promises: To cut healthcare costs while providing affordable care to seniors. However, it’s at the expense of their health. How so, you might ask? The Medicare clause hands a swift and expensive penalty to hospitals that have too many readmissions due to complications, should they attempt to readmit a patient within 30 days from the date they were released. The premise is to enforce quality care before you are released.
The Obama-care Medicare policy not only is a deterrent for hospitals to retreat a patient who may earnestly need treatment but it’s a safety risk for every aging patient who may not heal as quickly, may need retreatment or received poor initial treatment. The penalties hospitals will face are expected to average $125,000 per incident (based upon expected averages). Now if that isn’t enough to make a doctor send you home before sending you back to the hospital then what is? Can we only imagine the red tape seniors will now face due to no cause of their own and how much more difficult it might be should they (the victim of poor quality care) need to re-enter the hospital after discharge? No one can convince me that hospitals will not exercise putting a system in place to avoid these penalties.
As we age, so will our body’s ability to recover fully and/or timely. To impart a policy that penalizes the provider because we need to be readmitted within 30 days from the date of our release seems absurd, especially considering the science of medicine and the possible interaction it has with our body. Is there some crystal ball method being used to determine this timeframe of readmission? Some magical reasoning that states we’re all the sudden eligible for retreatment after 30 days versus 29 days? Of course not. So how did they come up with the system of checks and balances? I would assume it was based upon some methodical timeline that appeared reasonable to the “powers-that-be” (aka government officials who drafted the policies which we’ve now been forced to accept).
So what say you President Obama on this matter (now that it’s been set in motion)? According to President Obama the new plan is “expanding” the coverage offered to Senior Citizens and stepping up customer service. Through preventative coverage and prescription drugs, the new law allows about $500 more in spending while cutting back about $7,385 in coverage. To help seniors avoid costly medical expenses and unpleasant procedures is a good thing, but what about those seniors who are already suffering from disease and need ongoing treatment or what happens it the treatment received failed during a hospital stay? What about those whose lives might be in danger due to the “savings minded hospitals” too afraid of the steep penalties least they readmit too soon? Well, I guess we’ll all find out soon enough.
http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/2011/04/valuebasedpurchasing04292011a.html
Of course, the outcome at this point is speculation but the reality is Obama-care is here at least through December 31, 2012. After January 1, 2013, we’ll either have another four years to see how it will affect our lives or a fresh start to find another method for solving the healthcare problem in America. There are parts of Obama-care that are needed, but there are too many parts that will tax the average middle-class American beyond what seems reasonable.
To learn more about the timeline of Obama-care, visit the following link (http://www.healthcare.gov/law/timeline/)
Quick Tips for Wellness: Medicine is a science, not a guarantee. Hospitals are care facilities, not hotels providing customer service experiences. A healthcare program need not get the two confused.
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