Why We Can't Afford Cedarbrook Or Gracedale

'The Washington Post' reports Hospice firms are draining billions from Medicare "..over the past decade, the number of “hospice survivors” in the United States has risen dramatically, in part because hospice companies earn more by recruiting patients who aren’t actually dying,

There are people who walk amongst us (including legislators) who constantly fill our heads with the idea the government doesn't do things as well as the private sector. Let's put that to theory to rest for once and all.

Up until a few years ago both Cedarbrook and Gracedale were doing quite well. That was before politicians both at the federal and state level stacked the deck against them. Neither of them existed to make a profit and yet they find themselves in this financial predicament.

Nearly 7 out of 10 (69%) are private, for-profit facilities I can't help but wonder how a private nursing home can do things cheaper and still manage to make a profit.* Could it be that many of them cherry pick the healthiest patients that require less care?

* Accept far more patients who have assets and less of those who rely on Medicare and Medicaid payments.

* Have lower staffing levels with less qualified workers.

* Have a single doctor on call (subcontracted) who may visit hundreds of patients only once per monthWant more reasons?
See:
Reader's Digest- 50 Secrets a Nursing Home Won’t Tell You

I'll give you a couple of more stories. The first one involves a private nursing home here in the Lehigh Valley which shall remain nameless. My son got a call on his ambulance about a patient who they were having trouble waking up. In less then a minute my son determined the guy was dead for hours. They seemed puzzled and asked if my son was sure? You have to really question someone on staff who can't tell the difference between some guy sleeping and one who assumed room temperature hours before.. I mean really!

Something else I noticed. This concerns the time we had to find a place for my mom who was dying from cancer and had only Medicare. The nursing home sales representatives weren't exactly swooning over us like they did when we visited at another time with someone whom had lots of assets.

The second thing I noticed. at all the homes they were quick to show us the recreation rooms and dining rooms while avoiding the areas with Alzheimer and hospice patients. My brother's wife is a bit of a stinker and insisted we be taken to those areas. Some provided wonderful care. Others wheeled them into the hallway and lined them up. How they take care of these least fortunate says a lot about the differences between nursing homes. She also reviewed their state inspection certificates.

Overall we found those affiliated with religion and the public nursing homes (less motivated by profits) fared better.

FINAL WORDS
When it comes to end of life nursing care it's unlike making widgets for the lowest cost at bare minimum quality. Patient to care giver ratios should not be traded to make a profit. We can kid ourselves as the day is long that private nursing homes can give better quality for less cost, but the truth remains. Investors expect a return on their money. Any nursing home that can deliver a profit while still costing less is cutting corners somewhere... YOU BEST BELIEVE!

The blame is also on voters who support federal and state legislators who promise to make cuts. Yeah they sure do in this area, but at the same time raise taxes and spend more money, give tax breaks and funding on everything else under the sun except these former social programs.

Does not everyone understand?
Legislators always increase taxes and spending no matter what they promise. Give them $1 and they will spend $2. It's a damned shame when they cut funding for nursing care and redistribute even more money somewhere else and the suckers taxpayers remain deluded into believing somehow they are doing us a service.. election after election.