For Profit Healthcare - Is it working?

[reg06]

Is it right to have FOR PROFIT healthcare? More and more I am starting to really question our system in the U.S.

As a registered nurse, I am appalled to realize that around 47 million Americans have no healthcare coverage. Many of these people are women and children. US is the wealthiest country in the nation, but we can't even provide the most basic health care to many. CEO's in this system of ours are making huge wages, while more and more cuts are being made to the nursing staff and quality of care we give patients.

Is healthcare a basic human right? I have the opinion that it is.

I wonder about a Universal healthcare system, I know there are many difficulties and challenges within this system alsol. Yet I am amazed to hear Canada spends only 11 cents for every dollar on administrative costs, while the US wastes 24 cents to every dollar on administrative costs. This means more money pouring into the HMO's

I have heard many European countries have a wonderful Universal healthcare system that actually works.

Isn't it a weird concept that when you are ill, you are part of helping the hospital make money. It's like, a twisted concept.

Am I being too idealistic?

What happens when patients can't pay there hospital bills and have no insurance? Forgive my lack of knowledge in this area. I am never involved with the billing process and what happens after the patients go home.

[pickledpepperRN]

Who else is interested in our healthcare system. Or is it a "sick care non-system"?

[babs_rn]

When for-profit healthcare companies start putting quotas on admissions,like it's a manufacturing company or something, then something has just got to give. That is as blatant a profit mindset as I've ever seen.

[Charles S. Smith, RN, MS]

There are many variables to consider in the discussion of not-for-profit and for profit health care institutions. One important point, however, is that all health care institutions must operate in the "black" to continue to provide services, i.e.' they all must have revenues on the plus side. Not-for-profits have a line item on the balance sheet called "excess of revenues over expenses" which is another way of saying profit. For-profit institutions, whether publically or privately held must satisfy stockholders. Not-for-profits do not have to pay dividends. Mission statements and goals differ in the two categories of healthcare institutions with for profits generally setting financial goals for stockholders at a high priority. There are many more differences between the two types of institutions, but it is the economics of healthcare that really must be considered in this discussion.

Healthcare does not respond the same way as other market economies do. There are many reasons why basic supply/demand economic rationality fails in healthcare and too long for this board. If you are really interested, check out The Economics of HealthCare by Rosko & Broyles or HealthCare Economics by Feldstein. Tedious material, but does give some good insights. The journal Health Affairs also is a good source for articles. Peter Buerhaus is a nurse economist (now at Vanderbilt) who has written extensively about nursing economics. Check out his articles for information on nurse supply/demand issues.

regards

chas

[reg06]

Thanks for the info on articles and journals about the healthcare system. I definitely would like to be more educated about the finer details of our current US system.

[oramar]

Calnurse.org has an article at it's web site that states for profit hospitals show nice profits. The system is working for them and there stockholders but not for the rest of us.