It would seem you need to be very careful about what procedures you agree to in a hospital, for your or your loved ones.
Two new stories are emerging that paint a grim picture of America’s healthcare system:
First, a hospital in Chicago was raided by the Feds for performing unnecessary procedures and then billing medicaid and medicare, pocketing (and hiding, through clever accounting) kickbacks, and for doing a poor job,. That is to say, not only were they performing unnecessary procedures on patients, but they weren’t performing them well: they had three times the state mortality rate for them.
Mostly, it was the elderly at risk. In fact, the hospital even made arrangements with local nursing homes and ambulance drivers to admit the elderly unnecessarily via the ER.
And this isn’t just an isolated case.
A study has found that hospitals, thanks to poor healthcare laws, actually make more money when patients have unnecessary complications—meaning they’re rewarded for screwing up.
This isn’t actually news, it’s been well publicized for the last decade that hospitals actually write their budgets around C-Sections (setting a goal for a set amount to be performed), which cost 30-40K for a 20 minute procedure (vs. 12k for a vaginal birth, which can take hours). According to the World Health Organization, no where in the world needs to have a C-Section rate above about 12%—6% being average for healthy countries. In the US, the national C-Section rate is 33%. Some hospitals even have rates over 50%.
That more examples exist isn’t surprising.
When in the hospital, research what’s normal for your health condition. Emergencies do happen, but know the red flags for unnecessary treatment. And enlist a friend or family member to be your advocate.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments:
