Patients pay price for public hospital care

The financial crisis that erodes patient care and, some doctors say, threatens lives at Parkland is part of a larger crisis threatening to unravel safety net health care at many of the 1,100 public hospitals across the country.

Since their origins in the 1700s as almshouses and sanitariums, public hospitals have relied on taxpayer dollars to provide care to Americans who couldn't afford it otherwise.

snip....

But in recent years, public hospitals have been hit hard by government health cuts, just as surging numbers of uninsured Americans and illegal immigrants are turning to them for care.

Nearly 82 million people -- one-third of the U.S. population under 65 -- lacked health insurance at some point over the past two years, according to a recent study by Families USA, a private consumer group. Texas had the highest rate in the nation, with more than 43 percent of its non-elderly population uninsured.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/09/06/patients.price.ap/index.html

...therefore reduce the profit margins for private health care companies.

to destroy public education and any other public agency services. Yep, that's definitely "compassion" and "family values" for ya! The only families they value are those making tons of moolah.

i think that is the main reason.
Helps them to "starve the beast", overall.

pretty savage behavior, i think.

out of progressive taxation because the rich will always be able to afford it. And if the poor have to go into debt to by these things, that's even better, because they banks will make money of the loans and because your wage slavery will ensure some corporation that you're so desperate for a job you'll accept the lowest wages and the crappiest conditions.

It's a deadly spiral. When people don't have money for the the necessities then other people can't be employed to provide those necessities. That further drives down wages and salaries, reducing Social Security contributions and income tax revenues, driving both the SS Trust Fund to depletion and the Federal into deeper debt, on which is paid interest which eventually causes increased taxes mostly on the least paid ... and so on and so on and so on.

The "ownership society" is 1% owners and 99% slaves. That 1% is DimSon's "haves and have mores - his base."

it erodes training of doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and physician assistants. Many public hospitals are training grounds for public university med students. That benefits the rich as the students learn from a huge population of varied ailments how to treat unusual diseases and become very experienced in handling varied sequelae of more common ones.

Before long the Healthcare in this country will be in Super crisis mode and collapse

Exactly. And one of the things not mentioned too much in the media is that a healthcare system that only the rich can afford leaves us a breeding ground for pandemics. The walled/gated complexes of the ultra rich won't protect them then.

and poor, they will leave this country. I figure Switzerland, Lake Como, places like that wher they can keep their gold safe. They have already started taking their companies offshore like Bermuda to avoid taxes here.

beyond the 45 million now will "do"it, meaning when people wake up, if they ever do and vote Democrat. Just saw some unemployed guy on CNN on the news and he is just about out of unemployment, hasn't worked in a year, said he is about to get his home foreclosed, can't feed his 3 kids, has no health insurance. Story said he's in Misssouri. Guy looked about late 30s and VERY DESPERATE. Wonder if he will vote GOP or Dem?

Poor whites in this country often don't vote their best self intereset. My babysitter is a middle aged, recent divorcee. No health insurance, no savings. She plans to vote repub 'to save all those unborn babies'. I am saying, let's save the born ones first, vote democratic!