In the richest country in the world, why have 100 rural hospitals closed over the past decade?

[Uncle Joe]

Link to tweet

[SWBTATTReg]

1. Why? Because they can't make money is the simpliest reason. If there is no money to ...

be made, then health care be damned. It's sad to hear this, and ridiculous in one of the world's richest countries.

[Aristus]

2. Because rural people vote for the people who cut funding for rural hospitals.

Because, I don't know......socialism or something.

Proving some people would rather die than have a well-funded health care system...

[Salviati]

4. This too.

[MichMan]

9. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer cut funding for rural hospitals with line item veto

[caraher]

13. As an attempt to get Republicans to cooperate

LANSING — Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is flexing her political muscle in an ongoing budget fight, using executive powers to reject Republican priorities in hopes of regaining leverage and restarting negotiations.

The first-term governor signed the budget to avert a government shutdown but used line-item vetoes to eliminate the well-known Pure Michigan tourism ad campaign the GOP had funded, cut spending to support rural hospitals, deny charter schools an allowance increase, chop a private college tuition program and slash funding for a county jail reimbursement program.

The vetoes could have a disproportionate impact on rural residents and communities. But Whitmer offered an olive branch to Republican legislators who tend to support charter schools and represent rural parts of the state.

“A line-item veto is not a death knell for any individual item if people get back to the table and negotiate,” the governor told reporters, suggesting she is open to revisiting various veto decisions.

Still, health care should not be a political football

[Salviati]

3. Why? Because someone put MBA's in charge of healthcare.

[kimbutgar]

6. Years ago I thought about getting my MBA

I took an introductory class and the professor said the goal of business is profits over everything else. Workers can be used and discarded but profits are the number one goal. I was so disgusted I went home during the break. I lost $50 because I dropped the course but I knew I could never go that low. MBA’s have f’ed most industries in this country.

[SWBTATTReg]

15. Good for you. This profits over everything else is basically also called...

transfer the wealth of everyone (the 90%+ of us) to the few that's left (<10%). Everything is sliced, diced, cut up, taken apart, etc. in order to gain that extra 1/10th of 1 cent, going to people like the Kochs, and those just as bad. And then, of course they literally don't pay any taxes (or if they do, it's less, %-wise, then their secretaries pay).

By the way, my mba is in telecommunications, and not in any of the financial services (or similar) sectors.

[Newest Reality]

5. Wait...there's more to come!

Serve only the finest Oligarchy(tm) brand! It's coming to your town, soon.

With Oligarchy(tm), all your problems become very simple and basic and that means life will be less complicated by silly 1st-World problems and generic neurosis. No, you can live in an exciting world that is fully focused on where to sleep, staying warm or cool, finding a bathroom, taking a shower, where to get some food, (any food) and other, wholesome family-style values that were once a tradition and our now coming to you and yours free of charge.

Being a Serf is far better than you thought and the freedom of living in a car or tent is really a dream come true. You won't worry too much about health care when your only priority is survival and your part of the American Dream is a deep wish to die soon just to get it over with and that's what we call RELIEF, no welfare can do that. Now, that's a goal-driven, purposeful life and its going to be available to everyone who doesn't really matter anymore and you already know that if you don't have what matters like millions and billions of almighty dollars.

Oligarchy(tm)! "No more useless eaters at the table!"

Ask for it by name. Oh, don't bother, it's going to be mandatory and you can't stop it. Oh, and be sure to pay your sidewalking and breathing fees at the next corner, we have luxuries to buy ourselves, you know. Enjoy!

[Auggie]

8. +1

[eppur_se_muova]

7. What, Qatar is closing hospitals ? News to me.

If this is a US campaign, the appropriate phrase is "in the twelfth richest country in the world".

We're beating Ireland, baby !

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/07/richest-countries-in-the-world/39630693/

[Hoyt]

10. Because the hospital beds just aren't needed. Some rural areas have opened 24/7 emergency

rooms with a bed or two to stabilize people for transfer.

Sophisticated care isn't available in those small hospitals. They aren't efficient and can't stay open on Medicaid and Medicare payment rates without local funding, which is usually lacking. Truthfully, I think the community "dies" first, then the hospitals.

Today so much of medical care occurs on an out-patient basis, often with medications that prevent the need for hospitalization or treatments available in a physician's office that would have caused admissions years ago.

I've worked in rural hospitals, and I'd stay at home if that is where I had to go.

If Sanders and Warren act like they can reverse these trends -- while picking up 40 million un/underinsured and eliminating out-of-pocket costs without taxing middle income citizens -- their health plans are going to fail miserably.

Featherbedding ain't going to keep things affordable, and there are better alternatives to compensate for closing underutilized hospitals.

[Blue_true]

16. Hospitals follow people. My area has 3 hospitals in the biggest city because that city has grown

population. All three are busy. One area where there is a hospital used to be rural and thinly populated, people living there had nothing then, no even a gas station.

[YOHABLO]

11. I would suggest that the loss of employment

has hit rural areas hard. When the jobs dry up, there's no means to support a hospital. People who live in the country should be prepared for health emergencies. What else can they do?

[Doreen]

12. This, "we are the richest country" claim does not compute.

We are not the richest country. Our country has some of the richest people. Contrary to popular belief a country is not rich just because it's 1 or 2 percent are. They manage their money to keep themselves rich while at the same time keeping the rest poor. A country who has rules and laws to keep those who have the money from hurting those who do not is actually the richer country.

Then again that is only my opinion of that.

[crazytown]

14. GDP per person (2018)

Qatar: $124,487
Macau: $118,099
Luxembourg: $109,199
Singapore: $98,299
Brunei: $81,612
Ireland: $77,670
Norway: $74,318
United Arab Emirates: $70,262
Kuwait: $66,982
Switzerland: $64,988
https://www.thebalance.com/gdp-per-capita-formula-u-s-compared-to-highest-and-lowest-3305848

U.S. $62,641

[Karadeniz]

17. Back when ACA was new, there were reports on how well hospitals were going, medical personnel was

The fastest growing career, lots of good things happening. What happened?