Health & Fitness
THE MEDICINE BALL
Obamacare or Republicancare doesn't really matter. Medicine is silently changing how they do business.
The world of medicine … community by community, across the country… is changing dramatically. As we circle left and circle right…do a little dosey-doe around the giant hole we call the deficit… most Americans will soon realize that they have been chaperoned to the big-ticket event of the political season…The Medicine Ball.
Like most social events, organization is key. Our hospitals, skilled care facilities (formerly called nursing homes), home health companies and physician practices have been very busy. Over the past year, many of these medical entities have been buying up smaller competitors…merging with others…and signing agreements with larger brands like Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and Baylor in order to boost patient perceptions and marketing sizzle.
Find out what's happening in Napervillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
What happened? Years of shrinking Medicare reimbursements due to poor planning by our U.S. congress, scrutiny of hospital not-for-profit status by state governments looking to pass more Medicaid expenses back to the hospitals, continued expansion of hospitals… AND last but not least…the promise of
more insured people and federally funded Medicaid per the Affordable Care Act.
The result… A major medical market (like Chicago), which used to have a couple of dozen hospitals and big medical clinics…will now have these locations operating under only a few big names. Even out-of-state medical groups look at adjoining states to expand to…looking to add competition to markets where all of the mergers and acquisitions threaten to dominate. The result… more healthcare choice for the consumer.
Find out what's happening in Napervillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
While congress and most Americans were arguing about Obamacare-vs-Republicancare, the medical community started changing their business models…knowing that it really doesn’t matter what political flavor rules. Medicine as we know it has to change…becoming smarter, faster and more profitable… while working to deliver the better health outcomes for all patients.
Modern medicine now knows that prevention and education can be a tremendous tool for keeping people healthy… and it takes a lot of time and money to get people to eat an apple and exercise rather than fill a prescription. Change is coming to medicine… no matter what the red-state/blue state count… and there’s no better way to introduce change than to have a party. So …you are ALL
invited to the Medicine Ball!
Keep moving!
