Why people hate the feds
Why people hate the feds
The hospital in the county was trashed by the flooding: equipment ruined, staff scattered, records destroyed. Rumor has it that the administrators fled by helicopter as the flood waters rose and left everyone else to look after themselves. I am not sure if that is true, but I know what happened after the flooding receded.
The hospital board decided they were not reopening. In its place is a medical clinic operating out of a triple wide clinic. Not surprisingly, residents, particularly elderly or those with children, do not want to return unless they know there will be medical care. The problem is that the population of the county is very small right now, too small to justify a hospital. It is a catch 22, no people no hospital – no hospital no people.
In step the fed. They agreed to pay for 6 months of costs at the hospital. That would give it some cushion while it waited for payments from health insurance companies to begin coming in. It would also reduce the losses of operating the hospital for the first year or two, when the population will still be low.
The locals went to work. Doctors spent their evenings making calls. They squeezed in business discussions between patients. In the end, they found a new non-profit hospital chain to come in and reopen the hospital.
Well, a few days ago the feds “de-obligated” the six months of funding. The non-profit chain pulled out and the citizens were left with egg on their face. They had discussions based on the feds promises and now they have lost face because the feds are not going to deliver.
The hospital in the county was trashed by the flooding: equipment ruined, staff scattered, records destroyed. Rumor has it that the administrators fled by helicopter as the flood waters rose and left everyone else to look after themselves. I am not sure if that is true, but I know what happened after the flooding receded.
The hospital board decided they were not reopening. In its place is a medical clinic operating out of a triple wide clinic. Not surprisingly, residents, particularly elderly or those with children, do not want to return unless they know there will be medical care. The problem is that the population of the county is very small right now, too small to justify a hospital. It is a catch 22, no people no hospital – no hospital no people.
In step the fed. They agreed to pay for 6 months of costs at the hospital. That would give it some cushion while it waited for payments from health insurance companies to begin coming in. It would also reduce the losses of operating the hospital for the first year or two, when the population will still be low.
The locals went to work. Doctors spent their evenings making calls. They squeezed in business discussions between patients. In the end, they found a new non-profit hospital chain to come in and reopen the hospital.
Well, a few days ago the feds “de-obligated” the six months of funding. The non-profit chain pulled out and the citizens were left with egg on their face. They had discussions based on the feds promises and now they have lost face because the feds are not going to deliver.
posted by JNA | 6:21 PM
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