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posted by martyb on Tuesday March 21 2017, @04:46PM   Printer-friendly
from the ham-and-mayo-on-wry? dept.

Mayo Clinic, one of the country's top hospitals, is in the midst of controversy after its CEO said that the elite medical facility would prioritize the care of patients with private health insurance over those with Medicare and Medicaid.

The prioritization by the Rochester, MN-headquartered medical practice was recently revealed by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. And it has quickly drawn out some sharp critics—as well as sympathizers.

In a statement to the Minnesota Post Bulletin, Dr. Gerard Anderson, the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Hospital Finance and Management, compared the prioritization to policies seen in developing countries. "This is what happens in many low-income countries. The health system is organized to give the most affluent preference in receiving health care," he wrote.

Likewise, Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper, expressed surprise and concern by the statements of Mayo's CEO, Dr. John Noseworthy. "Fundamentally, it's our expectation at DHS that Mayo Clinic will serve our enrollees in public programs on an equal standing with any other Minnesotan that walks in their door," she said. "We have a lot of questions for Mayo Clinic about how and if and through what process this directive from Dr. Noseworthy is being implemented across their health system."

Specifically, Noseworthy said in a video to Mayo employees late last year:

We're asking... if the patient has commercial insurance, or they're Medicaid or Medicare patients and they're equal, that we prioritize the commercial insured patients enough so... we can be financially strong at the end of the year.

In statements, Mayo has confirmed Noseworthy's prioritization and added that about 50 percent of its patients are beneficiaries of government programs. "Balancing payer mix is complex and isn't unique to Mayo Clinic. It affects much of the industry, but it's often not talked about. That's why we feel it is important to talk transparently about these complex issues with our staff."

Source: Ars Technica


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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 21 2017, @06:02PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 21 2017, @06:02PM (#482276)

    > Their mistake is in going public about it and being honest.

    Leave it to VLM to be opposed to honesty and transparency.

    If you think this policy could have been conducted in secret you are a fool.
    Most people get into medicine because they want to help people, not milk them for cash.
    The information would have come out soon enough.

    > You must give everyone a Ferrari regardless of their ability to pay or your ability to fund the giveaway program.

    Your ideology has caused you to fundamentally misunderstand the situation. This isn't about giving 'everyone' anything. This is about treating people equally regardless of their ability to pay. It is about saying that you have an equal chance of dying whether you are rich or poor. That money should not be final arbiter of a person's value. It is no different from saying that everyone who needs to drive on a road is allowed to drive on that road as long as there is space on the road for them and that paying extra doesn't get them priority.

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