Wednesday, November 14, 2012

New Urgent Care Charging E.R. Rates?

A heads up about St. Joe's new Urgent Care Clinic: As I posted on Saturday, it's been made part of St. Joseph's Emergency Room Dept. According to a letter from a nurse in the Times- Standard today, Urgent Care visits are now being charged the same as Emergency Room visits. Yikes!

11 Comments:

At 9:09 AM, Anonymous St. Joseph said...

How else can the survive Obamacare? Or pay for their new tower building? Money makes the world go around, my son.

 
At 10:14 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

If this is as the letter writer says it is, I just don't see the point in even calling it Urgent Care, or at least suggesting it's any different than an E.R. visit.

 
At 11:16 AM, Anonymous skippy said...

Fred, I mentioned this would happen about a year ago here-- it was the plan all along despite statements to the contrary. An administrative insider filled me in on the details, and the NCJ covered the story later.

I mentioned Open Door Community Clinics would be filling the Urgi-Care void in knowing what St. Joe's was going to do, and building their proposed new facility on Tydd Street.

The good news is the new Open Door clinic is nearly done. They will start seeing patients in December. The building, I understand, is a beauty and the services offered will be outstanding. But, as I remember, you didn't like the idea for some reason, even though it was predicatably going to be the only cost-effective option available.

I'll offer another prediction: St. Joe's is going broke. They won't go belly-up, but they will likely be looking for new owners in the next year or two.

 
At 11:46 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

Thanx for the reminder about the Open Door Clinic, Skippy. I'd forgotten about them.

My problem with the new OD clinic is they're paying tens of millions of dollars for that building yet they cater mostly to MediCare/MediCal patients. MediCal has probably the lowest reimbursement rates in the country, probably down to ten cents on the dollar now.

How are they going to pay for that building with such low paying clientele? I've read that hospitals around the state that have 60% or more of their revenue from MediCal are the ones that are closing down or reducing hours and services. Doesn't bode well for the ODC, imo.

It might have made more sense to lease one of the many vacant commercial buildings around town rather than pay millions on a new building.

I've felt the same way about St. Joe's and thought the new extension was probably a bad move. They just had a multi- million dollar loan they couldn't pay off forgiven not long ago. Granted, it's not as if there's a whole bunch of hospitals up here to compete with but they seem to be spending more than they have a reasonable expectation to recover through patient fees.

Kinda like the Open Door Clinic, huh?

 
At 7:41 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good Lord, this has nothing to do with Obamacare. Hospitals and insurance companies will benefit greatly (financially) from Obamacare, which is why the law could get passed in the first place.

 
At 6:51 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Henchman Of Justice" says,

Fred, YOU JUST NAILED IT with respect to societal costs being a BURDEN UPON ANY BUSINESS. How did you "nail it"? By mentioning the HUGE BUILDING COSTS.

The problem with new construction is the costs. The problem with real-estate is the costs. Honest people need to soul search as to why they stay silent over those "services endeavors" that don't care about costs because the service will pass it along to the customer or file a lien.

There exists a sort of greed and selfishness by the workforce to have workplace conditions better than most people's own living conditions (iow, pay yourself a very rich occupational career with fancy buildings, amenities and such, ala "Helenistic Period" on credit/debt, whereas many other lower level societal employees have slum employers or building owners, public officials who care less about the disproportionate levels of workplace conditions except when relateable to campaign donorships, etc - it ain't about being sterilizingly clean, its about wasting money on unecessary extravagances that cost more and more and more and are eventually pushed onto the consumer/victim/revictim).

Also, the Walk-In-Clinic in McKinleyville does not require much for its service and if you pay cash, it is better for both parties. So, let's hope the accounting books are separate between all the various Open-Door clinics because the consumers in McKinleyville should not have to pay more because of a new building in another city. The building in McKinleyville is quaint and appropriate, not dazzling like the Taj Mahal.

It (the greed to build unecessarily using other peopels wealth) is like these darned school bond measures and the construction work that is "for show" and not needed, but just a local political post vote kickback that was pre-manufactured behind the scenes in scope prior to the election, but parlayed amongst the insiders in such a way to dupe the rest of the voter base on the notion that it "was for the kids" WHEN in reality it was "for the scum sucking adults".

Stealing from people by calling it a tax or higher fee to build unnecessary buildings or parking lots just to kickback stolen proceeds from a collective of people overall by funneling that stolen wealth to a few insider connected losers for debt costs or employment opportunities is b-s and happens too often. - HOJ

 
At 6:52 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Henchman Of Justice" says,

Anonymous (shy person apparantly) is incorrect in saying this has nothing to do with Obamacare. It partly has something to do with Obamacare (how much, ehhh, hard to say with financial shell games and ruses "like emeregency versus urgency" when covering budgetary line item shortfalls) but, probably more so with the idea that service will shift more to Walk-In Clinics which STILL are relatively unkown to many in the community. Lose to the competiton with lower pricings does not bode well for the bigger is better outfits which need "MARKET SHARE". Society needs to get abck to "individual doctor offices" and away from the corporatized/privatized bigger is better model.

What I have learned is that "paying cash" on a per visit routine "IS A THREAT TO OBAMACARE" solely based upon lower costs presently prior to OBAMACARE going into effect and individual mandates start getting "VIOLATED"!

If you take the overall number of registered voters who vote and apply a percentage to that base of voters that which represents "how many people have current health care coverage needs/policies that are invoicable and paid by computer streamings", one will understand why Obamacare is so well supported NOT FOR it sincerely providing health insurance coverage, BUT THAT it would force people to subsidize those ALREADY RECEIVING health care benefits and services that are invoicable with rising costs that the current subsidized have never paid 100% of their fair share into. These types of Obamacare supporters are losers no different than the losers who get free service by never paying 100% for their individual health. They are also social treasonists, no matter what they do for a lifestyle. - HOJ

 
At 9:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think this has nothing to do with Obamacare. However, as a person who just used an UrgentCare for something urgent, I can tell you that it's quite a wrong business.

I see a lot of talk as if those of us who paid for Medicare (and SS, as an independent and employer so paid more), and turn out to need to use it in consequence of the bankster depression, are somehow, what is it now, 'social treasonists'.

Pal, you have an awakening to come if you ever come to fall into the situation of the 47%, no matter how special you think you are.

I was in fact 'special', and I can tell you it can indeed happen. So can the many quite capable ordinary people 40 and up who showed up with that shocked look on their face as their own work evaporated.

Read a little history, read a little Steinbeck, learn a little about how most humans live, and what can happen to nearly any of us.

Sorry, I can't figure out the attribution system here, but I am a later Anonymous, not the first one, as you can probably tell from the tone. The level the anti-robot system is set at is near impossible, also.

 
At 9:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, yes - what I meant to say about the apparent Urgent Care -> ER from St. Joseph.

My goodness, I remember a better earlier day compared to what I hear at present about that hospital.

This switch makes so little sense it's hard to believe the facts are straight.

The entire purpose of Urgent Care is to have a simple doctor's office-like place to go, so that persons don't have to clog up ERs and use their specialist staff.

Further, the amount you pay as copayment is much less. Who has decided to disrupt this system in Humboldt County, if it is so?

 
At 12:16 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

You have to look at the bright side to the rising prices for the visits. For me, I am just glad we have urgent care centers because sometimes you need help fast. It would be harder to get help if we didn't have these already set up around the globe. It takes a load off of the hospitals already by doing that.

Zach | http://www.sunsetwalk-inhealthcare.com

 
At 4:52 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Great blog, I read your blog and it is very helpful.Thanks for share this blog.

 

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