Many Americans are turning to long-term hospitals for recovering from intense surgeries or chronic conditions, but based on recent inspections, you should reconsider whether they are worth the money.
Long-term hospitals have sprung up because of the high cost to traditional hospitals to keep patients for long terms. Because of the way Medicare currently operates, traditional hospitals may actually lose money on patients who stay long term. This creates a reverse financial incentive to discharge patients earlier.
According to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which was setup by a Congressional research agency, for-profit long term hospitals have profitable margins on Medicare patients, whereas traditional hospitals have unprofitable margins on Medicare patients.
Medicare inspection reports indicate one long-term provider, Select Medical Corporation, runs understaffed facilities with high levels of turnover. The reports also identified preventable injuries and even cases of preventable deaths.
The bottom line is to be sure to do in-depth research when choosing a care facility for yourself or an elder loved one.
Long-Term Care Hospitals Face Little Scrutiny | New York Times
(photo: andercismo)
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Randall Ryder is consumer rights attorney in Minnesota, where he suesabusive debt collectors and is a publisher of Elder Parent Help.