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arms_room_rat t1_iydx3rs wrote

Reply to comment by jazzcanary in Maine is out of pediatric hospital beds. “As of Nov. 24, about 30,000 of the country's 40,000 pediatric hospital beds were available. Five states are at 90% capacity or higher. Currently the most overwhelmed state is Maine, at 109% capacity” by membaberry18

Oh my God. Go back and read my post again, and maybe again. Healthcare companies rely on third party payors, which are private and government insurers, to get paid. Healthcare companies also determine what services they offer. Reimbursement is LOWER than adults for pediatric beds because PAYORS (like MAINECARE but also other entities) do not pay as much. Mainecare is NOT a healthcare company. Healthcare companies have reduced the number of pediatric beds because they are putting profit motive above community need.

An obvious and short term fix is to increase reimbursement rates through the government funded payors, however unless you eliminate the profit motive from Healthcare it is only temporary as the cycle of rising costs will repeat.

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jazzcanary t1_iye0i80 wrote

Healthcare facilities, which you are calling healthcare companies, make no money on empty beds or staffing for them. Paying higher reimbursements doesn't create more child patients. Maine has problems like this everywhere due to small populations. Taxpayers won't fund it. It's not Cigna et. al.

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Electrical-Bed8577 t1_iyeesjm wrote

"Empty beds", have been used in the past by Healthcare companies/corporations (more than one "facility") as a ploy for government funding or favors, from local as well federal entities. The whole thing needs an overhaul. From the companies laying off permanent nurses then hiring traveling nurses to defray the cost of ever diminishing reimbursement ("insurance", gov), to healthcare institutions being traded on Wall Street like kids game cards. The more they are able to pit us against each other, the more time they have to keep getting away with it.

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arms_room_rat t1_iye1axt wrote

Omg the beds aren't empty they are overflowing, which is the ENTIRE point of the post! What are you even saying right now? Healthcare facilities are owned by healthcare companies...what is the point even saying that lol? Lol this whole exchange has been kafka-esque - up is down apparently?

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