The reason patients are being discharged quicker and sicker is that the hospitals do not have to pay for the home care that patients need after they are released prematurely.
Also, hospitals are often paid the way Medicare pays — a fixed price, independent of the length of stay. So the shorter the stay, the lower the hospital’s costs.
Here are what I think are the economics behind the emergency room phenomenon.
Many hospitals are making a profit off their ER patients. It is probably the primary way inpatients enter the hospital. Since most patients aren’t paying out of pocket and there aren’t any posted prices anyway, the way you compete for traffic is to lower the time cost of care. (Seems like I read somthing like this in something John Goodman wrote.)
Anyway, this analysis probably holds only for suburban hospitals and not the inner city ERs that get all the Medicaid patients and the charity care patients.
The reason patients are being discharged quicker and sicker is that the hospitals do not have to pay for the home care that patients need after they are released prematurely.
Also, hospitals are often paid the way Medicare pays — a fixed price, independent of the length of stay. So the shorter the stay, the lower the hospital’s costs.
Glad to here sleep is good. Now I don’t have to feel guilty every time I oversleep.
Here are what I think are the economics behind the emergency room phenomenon.
Many hospitals are making a profit off their ER patients. It is probably the primary way inpatients enter the hospital. Since most patients aren’t paying out of pocket and there aren’t any posted prices anyway, the way you compete for traffic is to lower the time cost of care. (Seems like I read somthing like this in something John Goodman wrote.)
Anyway, this analysis probably holds only for suburban hospitals and not the inner city ERs that get all the Medicaid patients and the charity care patients.