ST. MARKS TO DROP CHILD BIRTH CENTER
Officials in Fayette County say they feel ‘blind-sided’ by the recent announcement that St. Mark’s Hospital’s Board of Directors is planning to close its obstetric childbirth services at the end of next month.
In a statement issued by the board, they say they arrived at the decision due to “the loss of OB financial support that has been received for several years through the state’s program to serve Medicaid and uninsured individuals.”
Local leaders say they had no knowledge of the closure prior to the announcement late last week.
The move leaves Fayette County without a delivery room.
The nearest delivery room for Fayette County is now Columbus, over 25 miles away.
In a statement issued by St.Mark’s, hospital officials say, “with changes in the healthcare industry, St. Marks is forced to make difficult decisions for the greater good of the hospital.”
After viewing reader comments, I see there is a lack of understanding about the reasons why rural hospitals are suffering and why health insurance premiums are so high since passage of the ACA. The ACA has the potential to be a great program but it has been systematically sabotaged by Congress.
One of the reasons rural hospitals in Texas are struggling is because the state refused the Federal offer of Medicaid expansion. Many people who would otherwise be covered by insurance through low income subsidies are doing without insurance because of Texas’ refusal to expand Medicaid. The result is a financial strain on hospitals caring for the uninsured. In addition, people are moving to the cities in pursuit of better paying jobs and so the hospitals are serving fewer people and thus bringing in less revenue.
With regard to the negative comments concerning the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many of us struggled with insurance costs or lack of coverage before the ACA. Since passage of the ACA, many working Americans who previously went without insurance, including those with preexisting conditions and the working poor, now have affordable coverage with lower deductibles.
The ACA has its problems such as higher premiums and higher deductibles for working Americans not receiving tax credits and limited networks. When the law was written, a temporary “Risk Corridor”, was added to the ACA to reimburse insurers in the case of excessive losses. Alternatively, if insurers made excess gains they would pay part of that windfall into the program. Medicare Part D has a Risk Corridor program and it is permanent. Marco Rubio, in a deliberate attempt to undermine the ACA, defunded the Risk Corridor program in 2014 so insurers lost a lot of money. Insurance premiums and deductibles increased as a direct result.
Good try Just Saying.
Unfortunately there are those who will always refuse to believe Obama was capable of any mistakes.
I’m sorry, but I don’t believe I said anything about Obama. All humans make mistakes, so there’s that. ‘Just Saying’ didn’t even reply to my second question, yet you’ve already jumped to the conclusion that asking questions about how health care works equates to being an Obama fan, and I don’t see anything here that supports that conclusion. It’s an honest question; is the state responsible for doling out those benefits, or not? Do you perhaps have an honest answer?
No entity can continue to operate, when certain services are provided and not compensated for. It is easy to understand why this particular service was targeted. This being one of those areas where you CANNOT “turn indigent people away”, knowing you will not see a penny. Soon it adds up.
This proves that the Government Had No Business Interfering with Our Country’s Heath and Insurance Programs. Obama you have hurt our Country that may be beyond repair. This result will continue if Obama’s Disaster is not Repaired Take Heed America!!! Limited Government Is Good Sustainable Government.
Just poor management. I received a bill from them two years after the date of service. And then they count tell me why I was being billed. 1500$ for a visit that took 15 minutes..
Because of so many people not having heath insurance they have run out of money.
THANKS OBAMA CARE.
I’m not seeing the connection here between Obamacare, uninsured people, and the OB unit closing. Would you mind explaining it to me?
RH, Decreases in reimbursement from government health programs that are allowed by the affordable care act and other bills put in place by the Obama administration have crippled rural health care systems all over the country. EMS runs don’t get paid like they used to, therefore your county budget (tax dollars) has to supplement that. Hospital bills don’t get paid and they can just raid the tax coffers to stay open. Private hospitals are a business, and businesses don’t stay around if they can’t pay the electric bill and salaries for their employees. The Obama administration will be known for it’s evisceration of our healthcare system for long to come, even if free healthcare for everyone sounded good, it’s not practical. Just like liberalism all together, sounds warm and fuzzy, until you realize it doesn’t work.
But I don’t understand how ‘Obamacare’ is responsible for decreased Medicaid/Medicare reimbursements. I thought the state doled that money out?