Monday, July 28, 2008

It's expensive being poor.

Don't miss this WSJ article.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Peter, it is not just the "urban poor" who are covered in this WSJ article. A few years back in the Wenatchee World there was an article which documented the cost-shifting occurring in NCW (North Central Washington) hospitals such as CWH towards the uninsured who did not have Medicaid. The catchment area is rural, so it is not just an urban/metropolitan phenomena. Even when considering the "write-down" that was taking place, the charges to these folks was sometimes three times (depending upon the procedure) what was being charged to the "covered" patients. Don't judge CWH too harshly as WVMC won't even consider taking or extending care to "these" type of patients. WVMC spends it's money lobbying against the physician-owned boutique hospital legislation. Just ask Doc Hastings and Patty Murray.