Obamacare and hospitals

BSNbeauty, BSN, RN · Sep 20, 2014

What do you think?

Editorial Team / Admin · Sep 20, 2014

The Affordable Care Act and its effects have already been discussed in multiple threads. Because these threads have gotten contentious at times, some participants may not have a desire to rehash their posts. However, you can find these threads (both on the allnurses side and the breakroom) by using the search bar in the upper right corner.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Sep 20, 2014

We are happy to help with homework...but we need to know what your research has revealed to you first.

mee9mee9 · Sep 20, 2014

We are happy to help with homework...but we need to know what your research has revealed to you first.

Its not homework. I currently work at a non- profit hospital and wondering what the CNA hiring will be more at non-profits or for profits. I know a hospitals budget plays a big part in hiring and reinbursements affect budget a lot.

tarotale · Sep 20, 2014

it probably won't do much good imo. people are still not going to sign up for insurance because it will not be "affordable", plus even if it was, we have handful amount of wise population throughout the country who rather buy canola oil and butter to make fried butter at home, eat them, and rush to ER, only to find out it was gerd. the er bill of course will be thrown into the trashcan and this will repeat for ages to come. you can't have nice things when more than half of population are dimwits

firstinfamily, RN · Sep 20, 2014

There are not many who can afford the insurance that the AHA was suppose to create for them. The insurance is sometimes more than the penalty for not having it. Both types of facilities will be affected as it is the amount of reimbursement that will provide payment to both. Most likely you will see a cut back in staffing because of the public not being able to receive complete insurance coverage. Staffing is the largest cost for any facility, that is why it is usually cut. But, with the winter months coming, most hospitals are gearing up at this time. There are no hard and fast rules, as a CNA you are most likely always in demand. If not in an acute facility, in a LTC or even private duty/home health. You should not worry, there will be work for you!!

MunoRN, RN · Sep 21, 2014

The average amount someone is paying for an Obamacare plan is $81/month, which is one reason why there are fewer uninsured people now compared to before Obamacare. Even more important to hospitals is that many who already had insurance prior to Obamacare were underinsured, often having insurance that didn't cover hospital stays, so in terms of overall private insurance reimbursement now compared to pre-Obamacare, hospitals are now better off.

Separate from Obamacare, medicare reimbursement is being cut across the board, which comes from the sequester budget deal. A shift to value based instead of volume based reimbursement is also underway, although that doesn't come from Obamacare either but rather the HiTech act. Hospitals that have been providing high volume but low quality care will be losing revenue, hospitals that provide good quality care will see their reimbursements go up. In terms of CNA staffing, adequate CNA staffing is certainly one way hospitals can ensure proper quality care so there is some incentive to maintain good nurse and staff ratios.

toomuchbaloney · Sep 24, 2014

The ACA was not created to benefit hospitals or insurers, it was created to benefit the citizens of the USA who were uninsured or having trouble obtaining insurance secondary to pre-existing health conditions, etc.

mee9mee9 · Sep 24, 2014

The ACA was not created to benefit hospitals or insurers, it was created to benefit the citizens of the USA who were uninsured or having trouble obtaining insurance secondary to pre-existing health conditions, etc.

so obamacare wont have an affect on revenue of hospitals?

toomuchbaloney · Sep 24, 2014

so obamacare wont have an affect on revenue of hospitals?

The ACA is primarily health insurance reform.

Who said it wouldn't affect revenue of hospitals?

toomuchbaloney · Sep 25, 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/us/health-act-cuts-spending-at-hospitals-report-finds.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

“Because of the Affordable Care Act,” Ms. Burwell said, “we project that hospitals will save $5.7 billion in uncompensated care costs this year. Hospitals in states that have expanded Medicaid are projected to save up to $4.2 billion of the total amount.”
Twenty-seven states have expanded Medicaid. Many of the others, which have balked until now, are likely to reconsider the issue when state legislatures convene next year.
White House officials said they wanted to work with Republican governors on Medicaid, as they did with Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania, a Republican. They reached an agreement with Mr. Corbett last month on a plan to expand Medicaid by using federal funds to buy private health insurance for about 500,000 low-income people.
The administration did not single out other states for special attention, but Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas — all with Republican governors — are obvious candidates. Health policy experts estimate that 3.5 million people could gain coverage if those states expanded their Medicaid programs.

It is clear that some politicians will put politics before the health of their constituents.