As health care costs rise and Medicaid rates lag behind, nursing and boarding homes are forcing out sick, elderly and frail residents in what advocates say is a growing trend. No official data exist on eviction counts, but discharge complaints have climbed to record highs. Full Story »
Posted by Dwight Rousu
Ho presents a discomforting picture from King County (Seattle) and Washington state. The combination of stingy medicaid payments and privatized care concerned with maximizing profits is resulting in evicting people too old to care for themselves.
A disturbing article with direct ties to congressional Washington now dragging its heels on the stimulus bill. One alarming example of the desperate straits the free-market economic mess has caused. Contrary to crocodile remonstrations of congressional Neanderthal Neocons–and so amply demonstrated in 1932–the only entity big enough to solve our mess is the federal government. And yes, it’s a spending bill. A spending bill to alleviate suffering, one of which described in this article. Spending to help its citizens, not to pander to special interests.
Memo to Limbaughettes: exactly where the Hell are elderly people like this who are thrown out of their homes and denied critical medical care supposed to go? Just wander around in some field in their bathrobes hoping death comes quickly? A question for good Christian neocon congressional Republicans so tightly bound to their right-wing religious base: what would Jesus do?
Ms. Ho has written a great and informative report, but as with all well written story's, which sources are more credible, the patients or the health care industry.Well, after thinking about it for literally seconds, I believe I'll go with the patients, After all, HMO's are bloodsucker's.
While reading this, I couldn't help but remember the videos that were shown of mental patients being dropped off at bus stations and the vans driving off and leaving them. They just wandered around, not knowing what to do. HMO's are bloodsucker's.
Unfortunately it's probably all factual. Nursing homes, especially absentee corporate ones, have a tendency to skimp on food, activities, and staff, to overmedicate - and generally fail to meet needs of residents. And yes, Medicaid reimbursements aren't adequate, and medicaid doesn't cover assisted living facilities which could keep a lot of people out of nursing homes at half the cost!. Medicare doesn't cover custodial care. This is a part of the health care system that receives little attention until something really bad happens - and then it sinks quickly out of sight again.
Some very large number of us are going to wind up in nursing homes at some point in our lives. If you're not old enough to think about this for yourself, think about your parents.
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