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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alighieri who wrote (540889)	1/5/2010 9:52:02 AM
From: Brumar89	Respond to of 1575761

You mean the doctors in HA have a union and all work in a socialized system? Why do they need unions? Isn't socialism itself nirvana?

To: Alighieri who wrote (540889)	1/5/2010 9:52:08 AM
From: i-node	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575761

>> >Delivered by what is essentially a socialized health care system run by people in unions...which is what he admitted to. Hey, in the United States at a major hospital, you're going to receive good care, NO MATTER WHAT. But Hawaii's "socialized medicine" you're so proud of is an absolute fiscal train wreck. You should read the following carefully, because it is, as you've indicated, precisely the same kind of government garbage we're going to be getting after obamacare passes. ============================== Saturday , October 18, 2008 HONOLULU — Hawaii is dropping the only state universal child health care program in the country just seven months after it launched. Gov. Linda Lingle’s administration cited budget shortfalls and other available health care options for eliminating funding for the program. A state official said families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan. "People who were already able to afford health care began to stop paying for it so they could get it for free," said Dr. Kenny Fink, the administrator for Med-QUEST at the Department of Human Services. "I don’t believe that was the intent of the program." … Hawaii lawmakers approved the health plan in 2007 as a way to ensure every child can get basic medical help. The Keiki (child) Care program aimed to cover every child from birth to 18 years old who didn’t already have health insurance.. State health officials argued that most of the children enrolled in the universal child care program previously had private health insurance, indicating that it was helping those who didn’t need it. The Republican governor signed Keiki Care into law in 2007, but it and many other government services are facing cuts as the state deals with a projected $900 million general fund shortfall by 2011… Families with children currently enrolled in the universal system are being encouraged to seek more comprehensive Medicaid coverage, which may be available to children in a family of four earning up to $73,000 annually. These children also could sign up for the HMSA Children’s Plan, which costs about $55 a month… ==================================== Hospitals in Hawaii report $150 million in ’07 losses October 24, 2008 HONOLULU (AP) – Hawaii hospitals suffered operating losses of $150 million last year and expect the situation to worsen in the near future… Hawaii Medical Center, which operates two former St. Francis hospitals on Oahu, filed for bankruptcy this year and cut the number of beds it offers. The state’s publicly subsidized hospital network, Hawaii Health Systems Corp., has had to request millions in emergency funding from the state to stay afloat. Kona Community Hospital, part of the network, laid off 10 percent of its workers. Also on the Big Island, the privately run North Hawaii Community Hospital laid off 12.6 percent of its staff. A Ernst & Young LLP report released Thursday, and prepared for the Healthcare Association, shows hospitals as a group have sustained operating losses for eight consecutive years. Reimbursements from Medicare, which represent about one-third of Hawaii patient charges, only covered 77 percent of costs. Medicaid/ Quest payments covered about 71 percent of costs. Payments from private insurers such as the Hawaii Medical Service Association cover slightly more than expenses, but they are not enough to make up for losses produced in providing medical services to Medicare and Medicaid/Quest patients…