Why Are Hospitals Closing Their Doors?

[LarryG]

If Health Care Is So Expensive, Why Are Hospitals Closing Their Doors?

Remember when Obamacare and moving to electronic health records were supposed to fix all that? — while at the same time many hospitals claim they are in dire straits?

Take Mississippi, over the last three years, hospitals in the state have lost $1.5 billion compared to pre-pandemic levels. The reason? Everything costs more—from contract labor which grew by 450 percent, to the cost of medical supplies which has risen by $82 million across the state. Drug expenses are also up 14 percent.

Some argue that hospitals would be in better shape if Medicaid was expanded. Alabama is one of eleven states that hasn’t expanded eligibility for the program since the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Getting the remaining eleven states to expand Medicaid would mean they’d be switching from one program that loses money to a different program that loses money, hopefully at a slower rate. To me that is prolonging things.

Thank goodness, Growth Management Group will be launching a new service that just might turn things around. This should be released within a few weeks and from what I hear, it will be on a contingency basis, meaning that if there are no savings, there are no fees!!

I will post this here as soon as it is available.

 

[Markthebroker]

There are two, and only two reasons I can see.

1- It's Trump's fault, and CNN has told us so.
2- It's Trump's fault, and CNN hasn't told us yet, but they will.

I see no other possible scenarios.

 

[PrivClientSG]

I once served on the Board of a hospital/medical center foundation, and then on the Board itself of a different hospital. I already was fairly knowledgeable about health care -- but I learned a great deal about hospitals specifically and their respective business model(s). I saw them go through many of the various phases -- expansion via building, patient capture via practice acquisition, partnerships with muti-discipline practices and medi-centers, and so on and so on.

Why are they closing? Numerous reasons. One, I think the stand-alone, one local hospital business model is broken. It is no longer insular and can't survive on it's own so to speak. The economics -- the entire business of healthcare -- has changed drastically over time. Two, in certain parts of the country, the stand-alone, one local hospital is being made antiquated and obsolete by the "healthcare system" or similar type model. Three, in the NY/NJ geographic area, we see far more in the mergers, acquisition, partnering, etc., then closing. I think that will continue in major metropolitan areas, and the states surrounding them. I can keep going, LOL.

Over time, quality health care -- quality health insurance -- for a population, has always been a necessity item; but it is now priced as a luxury item.