Thread: Will the healthcare reform make public hospitals unnecessary?

Again, giving everyone healthcare insurance is quite different than giving them health care. The uninsured and many of the insured are currently being denied care. No one knows how much it will cost to provide this. Millions need expensive treatment and hospital stays. We're not building out the infrastructure or training the workforce to deal with a mandated 25% (or more) increased demand for health services. So no, public hospitals will not close their doors. Every kind of health facility will be full and making $$$.

Every newly insured person will need a complete physical exam, testing for any condition they may have. Until that's done, no real estimation can be made of national healthcare needs.

Originally Posted by mahayana

Again, giving everyone healthcare insurance is quite different than giving them health care.

Indeed. It's also worth pointing out that we're not giving everyone health insurance - we're making them buy it, whether they want to or not.

Originally Posted by Wallaroo

Will the healthcare reform in America make public hospitals unnecessary when it is finally implemented? Can the private hospitals take over everything?

It was never about hospital ownership/management or doctor employment....this health care reform focused only on insurance coverage.

The public hospitals that exist today like the VA hospitals will exist tomorrow and for the foreseeable future.

There was some health reform back in the 50'?, part of that money for states was that they where to set up public hospitals. Even today there still many of them still going.


While this whole thing might have been about reform at the start, it has changed into making sure that the Insurance companies have both customers and an income for years to come.

"we're not giving everyone health insurance - we're making them buy it"

Until actual details emerge in the final bill, we won't even know what they want us to buy. 20% of the total new premiums will go to insurance industry profits, in the latest compromise. The IRS would need proof of adequate insurance for every American, in order to enforce compliance. I wonder if these penalty revenues would go into a healthcare trust fund, so they could ony be used for healthcare-related purposes?

Originally Posted by Wallaroo

Will the healthcare reform in America make public hospitals unnecessary when it is finally implemented? Can the private hospitals take over everything?

It will be the other way around. All the private hospitals will be taken over by the federal government because government regulation and red tape will put private hospitals out of bussiness. Ever been to a free public hospital? Well that's what they all will be like. Enjoy