"Designed by award-winning architects, your accommodations include free wireless, flat-screen TVs, concierge services, a business center, complementary robes, high-thread-count sheets, chef-prepared meals, banking services and an on-site boutique. Emphasis on customer service." Sounds like a nice place to stay, right? Someplace that rates maybe five of those little circles on TripAdvisor. Yes, except it just as easily could be your local hospital. Hospitals around the country are competing with each other based on such amenities — those in Arkansas are no exception — and some are taking cues from the hospitality industry.
There were plenty of computer glitches when millions of Americans went online to check out their options for affordable insurance policies on the new health care exchanges that opened for business this week. It was frustrating, but it was also an indication of overwhelming interest that exceeded all predictions. In the first three days, there were 8.6 million unique visitors to the federal government Web site for health care exchanges, far more than had ever signed on at one time to a popular Web site serving Medicare patients.
"It's the beginning of a new day in America," Sharon Phillips of Parkland Memorial Hospital said last week. Except that she also works in Texas, and that can be, well, complicated. Phillips, an executive vice president, was celebrating a milestone in health reform, the launch of online marketplaces. They offer private insurance for those with no coverage and often include federal subsidies to make it affordable. Parkland was eager to help folks sign up, given that about 50,000 uninsured patients may qualify. The catch is that many other customers will be left out in the cold: About 180,000 earn too little money to get public help, Phillips said.
Ignore the inevitable startup glitches. The new health-insurance exchanges will work just fine -- in the sense that all government health-care programs work: Many people will ultimately become dependent on them for coverage. That won't mean the exchanges have fulfilled their promise, however. Forget the superficial comparisons to a commodity exchange, an online retailer or even a bulletin board. The health exchanges won't resemble any other marketplace. Over time, rather than encourage insurance providers to offer ever more attractive and affordable policies, the exchanges are poised to push up the cost not only of insurance but also of health care itself.
Last week, I wrote about an uninsured 28-year-old Portage woman, Casey Majewski, who went to the emergency room in June after she fainted, a one-hour visit that resulted in a $1,300 bill. Readers were quick to point out that even under Obamacare, co-pays and deductibles make it unlikely that all or even any of the bill would have been covered by health insurance. They make a good point. But it also underscores one of the little-discussed aspects of American health care -- and one of the values of insurance, even if it has a very high deductible. Had Majewski had insurance, it's highly unlikely she would have been billed $1,300 because of the discounts negotiated between insurers and health-care providers
The proposed Prince George's County Regional Medical Center in Largo will contain just 231 beds and cost approximately $655 million to build and equip, according to operator Dimensions Healthcare Systems and its expert consultants. Dimensions disclosed the official cost and numerous other details of the plan to replace aging Prince George's Hospital Center in an application filed Friday at the Maryland Health Care Commission, which must approve the project. In a prepared statement, Dimensions CEO Neil Moore predicted success in obtaining a certificate of need, the last major hurdle for the project, which is slated to open in January 2018.