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How can I avoid an ER run by private equity?

by copperx 2y ago

morkalork 2y ago
Vote for politicians who support a single payer health care system
- ALittleLight 2y ago
  Does a single payer healthcare system change this? Presumably that would change who pays the healthcare provider - not who owns the healthcare provider, right?
  - sowbug 2y ago
    It's a collective-action problem. Nobody likes the current healthcare system, but what can we do? Ask the ambulance to shop around while we're bleeding out in the back? But as the single payer, the government would have the incentive and power to address the problem systematically and deliberately.
classichasclass 2y ago
Odds are you probably can't, at least not when you need the care most, which is the exact issue the article decries. Systems like Kaiser Permanente are not, but Kaiser is a vertically integrated HMO and structured very differently (disclosure: worked for Kaiser as a hospital per-diem for a number of years). Your best option is to make sure you know what EDs are actually in-network for you so at least you're less likely to get nailed if you have a little time to work with and aren't being transported by EMS.
SoftTalker 2y ago
Avoid the healthcare establishment as much as you can in general. They are a business, and their motive is profit, they don't care about making you better. Same thing is true of elder care, assisted living, etc. it's all centered on draining old people of their wealth before they die. Do not go to the ER for a runny nose or a sore throat. You have an immune system. Go to bed and let your body recover. Take on responsibility for your own health: eat better, get to a healthy weight, exercise. If you have chronic conditions that must be managed medically, shop around, find practices that are still locally owned. They are out there.
throwaway5752 2y ago
You literally cannot, or you are misusing emergency care. If you have a medical emergency you may need immediate care from EMTs in an ambulance followed by time sensitive follow up treatment. You may be trying to cope with the medical emergency of yourself or a family member in profound pain, cognitively impaired from hypoxia, drugged, or even unconscious. At best you will be unable to do anything other than dial 911 and hope or pray. You can try to live in a state or region that where emergent care is available that isn't owned by PE, or you can live in a country other than the US. Neither of those are a guarantee that your circumstances won't change.

How can I avoid an ER run by private equity?

morkalork 2y ago

Vote for politicians who support a single payer health care system

ALittleLight 2y ago
Does a single payer healthcare system change this? Presumably that would change who pays the healthcare provider - not who owns the healthcare provider, right?
- sowbug 2y ago
  It's a collective-action problem. Nobody likes the current healthcare system, but what can we do? Ask the ambulance to shop around while we're bleeding out in the back? But as the single payer, the government would have the incentive and power to address the problem systematically and deliberately.

classichasclass 2y ago

Odds are you probably can't, at least not when you need the care most, which is the exact issue the article decries. Systems like Kaiser Permanente are not, but Kaiser is a vertically integrated HMO and structured very differently (disclosure: worked for Kaiser as a hospital per-diem for a number of years). Your best option is to make sure you know what EDs are actually in-network for you so at least you're less likely to get nailed if you have a little time to work with and aren't being transported by EMS.

SoftTalker 2y ago

Avoid the healthcare establishment as much as you can in general. They are a business, and their motive is profit, they don't care about making you better. Same thing is true of elder care, assisted living, etc. it's all centered on draining old people of their wealth before they die. Do not go to the ER for a runny nose or a sore throat. You have an immune system. Go to bed and let your body recover. Take on responsibility for your own health: eat better, get to a healthy weight, exercise. If you have chronic conditions that must be managed medically, shop around, find practices that are still locally owned. They are out there.

throwaway5752 2y ago

You literally cannot, or you are misusing emergency care. If you have a medical emergency you may need immediate care from EMTs in an ambulance followed by time sensitive follow up treatment. You may be trying to cope with the medical emergency of yourself or a family member in profound pain, cognitively impaired from hypoxia, drugged, or even unconscious. At best you will be unable to do anything other than dial 911 and hope or pray. You can try to live in a state or region that where emergent care is available that isn't owned by PE, or you can live in a country other than the US. Neither of those are a guarantee that your circumstances won't change.