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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, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 21 2017, @06:44PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 21 2017, @06:44PM (#482307)

    Mayo Clinic is a premier US healthcare outfit, and that means a premier care provider in the world. And almost half of its patients are medicare/medicaid patients.

    Mayo Clinic should be lauded for that.

    The real problem is the structural problem of the US healthcare industry where we spent way more than most other countries but the outcome/coverage is that of third-world country.

    The US has gotten so ossified we can't address any truly significant and difficult issue in any meaningful, substantial way. So we opted for something different in desperation, anything out of ordinary to get out of the rut, but all we were able to manage is Trump presidency.

    Sad.

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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 21 2017, @06:51PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 21 2017, @06:51PM (#482313)

    Wanted to add this. Obama, who made it his presidential legacy to reform the medical care in the country, could only come up with the Rube Goldberg contraption called Affordable Care Act aka "Obamacare" - too damn many powerful vested interests to come up with a genuinely affective meaningful reform. Sure, it increased coverage to many more people, but it turned out not to be sustainable nor affordable after only a few years.