This year's political spending is aimed at killing a bill in the California legislature that would disrupt the industry's business model — and likely reduce its profits.
How companies like EmpowerHMS were able to drive so many hospitals into the ground so quickly is a story about the fragility of health care in rural America.
After guidelines for operations were issued in October 2017, surgeons in Michigan reduced by nearly one-third the number of pills they prescribed, with no reported drop in patient satisfaction.
Critics worry the delays come at a steep cost: Medicare paying for millions of unnecessary exams and patients subject to radiation for no medical benefit.
Observation patients may have to pay a larger share of the hospital bill than if they were admitted to the hospital. Plus, they have to pick up the tab for any nursing home care.
Hospital costs in the U.S. are so high that it made financial sense for a surgeon from Milwaukee and a patient from Mississippi to meet at a private Mexican hospital.
