Miss. Patients Face Transplant Obstacles (told to move to another state)

[Rose Siding]

JACKSON, Miss. -- Adult Mississippi Medicaid patients who need liver or lung transplants are being told they might not get the lifesaving organs they need unless they move to another state and sign up for Medicaid there.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson performs only bone marrow, adult heart and adult kidney transplants. Anyone needing a lung or liver transplant must go out of state, as must children who need transplants.

Mississippi Medicaid's policies allow the agency to negotiate payments for transplants for people 21 and younger. But for most adult cases, the hospitals have to be willing to accept Medicaid's standard reimbursement rates.

Apparently, a growing number of hospitals are not willing to accept the rates for transplants in adults....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/20/AR2005052000675.html

[orwell]

1. How Can this Be?

They only wait in line for medical care in those countries with (gasp) SOCIALIZED medicine.

It can't happen here...

We're free market America...

Is Mississippi part of Canada?

[Rose Siding]

3. That's potential GOP presidential candidate, Haley Barbour's state

The greatest health care system in the world...if you are Rich (or willing to move when you get sick)

[jobycom]

4. Yeah, they were talking about recalling Barbour at one point.

He could even make Bush look better if he became president. Not good, just better. Kind of like what Bush has done for Quayle.

[Coastie for Truth]

7. I THINK "DR BILL" HAS OLD HALEY BEAT ON THIS ISSUE

Dr Bill is good. He can see you on a web cam and makes an instant diagnosis.

Did you know that Dr Bill determined that Jeb Bush is seriously ill and needs complete rest until after the 2008 election.

[TheDebbieDee]

2. As long as they don't move to Missouri they'll be okay.........

Soon, Missouri won't have a Medicaid system to speak of at all!!!!!!!!!

[UpInArms]

5. headline misleading - I thought these people were getting

face transplants!

Gack!

Healthcare in Amerika is a joke. :(

[Rowdyboy]

6. My mother (who lived in MS) died needing a liver transplant.... When

she was evaluated at Univ of Alabama, they told her that Mississippi Medicaid would only reimburse $7000 on this surgery that cost well over $250,000-she had to have the rest upfront. Since her only income was $360 a month disability, she just went home to die.

[rodeodance]

8. it is part of the looming health care CRISIS--$ for war-not for care.

[Love Bug]

9. The next time someone says we shouldn't adopt universal health care

because "it rations care" I'm going to direct them to this article. If this isn't rationing care, I don't know what is. How could UHC be worse?

[KamaAina]

10. Moving to another state may not help

they might have to move to a province to get actual, workable health care, eh?

Besides, I'm quite certain that neighboring states such as Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and of course, Frist's home state of Tennessee (which just gutted its own TennCare program!) are perfectly able to take in loads of medical refugees from the Magnolia State. Aren't you? :sarcasm:

[Sgent]

11. One of the big issues

Is that there is no children's hospital (tertiary), or transplant hospital other than UMC in the state. For children, the state has contracts with Lebanur (Memphis), UAB (Birmingham), and the hospital in New Oreleans. For adults, no hospital will negotiate because they don't get the bread & butter surgeries to make up the difference they lose on transplants. I gaurentee that UMC would gladly get out of Medicaid transplants if they could.

As for Haley Barbor, I know of no recall petition because the idea of Recall doesn't exist in our state. His chances for election to the dog-catcher post after his term ends are mighty slim though.