Medicare Cuts and Future?

[MusicEMT]

So i was reading the news today and as some of you might have heard that the "supercommitee" in congress is deadlocked and will probably not pass a deal on the deficit (im not suprised at all ). anyways they are saying that automatic cuts will kick in at the start of 2013. there is expected to be $123 Billion in cuts total from 2013 to 2021 and majority of that is going to be from Hospitals and Doctors.

http://news.yahoo.com/grandma-grandpa-spared-bulk-automatic-supercommittee-cuts-110125139.html

now what i want to ask is. How severely these cuts will effect employment in the field of Nursing? are the cuts significant enough to keep hospitals from hiring more nurses?

i just wish the folks in congress knew that every choice they make effects someone in the county

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I think that the cuts should first come out of their salaries!!!! Those blood sucking leeches!!!! Before cutting Anything else......:flmngmd: I have had enough of their petty bickering and passive aggressive posturing when their only solution is to take away from the most vulnerable while they go home with full pay and a ton of perks, make insider trading investments, and are completely oblivious to the real issues around them.

These cut will cause the hospitals to not increase their greatest expense...NUrses.....for they will do anyhting to protect the bottom line...the huge bonuses for the CEO's......

Sad.....I am fearful of the future.....

[netglow, ASN, RN]

Lay-offs

Hiring Freezes

Rise in Nurse to patient ratios (9 or more will be the normal base ratio, lots of places are pretty much dabbling with this level now)

Fewer techs

Required call

[fromtheseaRN, BSN, RN]

i live in arizona and after our huge medicaid cuts in the last year, there were some lay offs (i heard there was going to be A TON, but haven't heard of how many actually happened), and lots wage freezes. i imagine the same if not worse will happen on the national level.

and i FULLY agree with esme12... the senators and congressmen/women aren't cutting their pay, and even after they no longer hold the position they get a lifetime of salary and benefits. ridiculous.

[montecarlo64, ASN, BSN, LPN]

I also believe there will be cuts which will be unprecedented..Unfortunately, patient care will suffer substantially and the economy will further downturn due to an increase in unemployment of nurses in an already over saturated market...May God Bless us all!!

[brainkandy87]

It's not the health care law that will hurt health care employees, it's the people fighting it that will. All the cuts without any of the rewards.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

Mayo Clinic has already stopped taking Medicare patients... they won't be the last. I'm on Medicare- it's scary.

Doctors already get paid a fraction of what they bill. The actual billed amount isn't some horrendous amount- especially for specialists with a lot more labs/tests to deal with.