Hospitals worry about reform

There is a compelling story today in one of the blogs on The Huffington Post. It explains how a 63-year-old female cancer patient will lose her health benefits if the Senate’s version of health reform - unveiled last night - were to pass.

The story describes how her COBRA will run out and she would need to wait six months before being able to apply for a public option plan.

This is just one of the red flags I see. The other is concern from some within the hospital community.

For example, the California Hospital Association estimates that the House reform bill that recently passed will result in a reduction in Medicare and Medicaid payments to California hospitals to the tune of $18.8 billion over the next 10 years. The negative impact just on California alone is huge!

I believe reform is needed, but we need to approach reform in a careful and targeted way.

My colleagues on this site have suggested this approach as well. You can see one of those posts here.

The bottom line is that costs tied to reform must be evaluated and weighed against the value of the change desired.

Don Ammon blogs regularly at Action for Better Healthcare.