2 Hospitals Examine Health-care Reform

Photo by tahitianlime on Flickr

Congress passed the health-care reform bill on 23 March 2010, with an amendment passed on 30 March 2010. The changes being made to the system will require everyone in the country to have health-care, through penalties of not buying insurance if you can afford it or through government subsidized health coverage.

32 million patients are being added to the already large number of people relying on insurance companies and drug companies, allowing those companies to gain even more power. Along with the monetary gain for insurance and drug companies, hospitals will see a change in the way that patients are treated.

There will be more patients, but no more doctors. New York City is planning to cut 10% of hospital staff( about 2,600 jobs), which could only add to the strain on the system. NY Presbyterian Hospital's CEO, Dr. Herbert Pardes recently spoke about the issue in a television interview. " We want to give quality care, it is an important balancing act," Said Dr. Pardes.

The cuts in hospital staff could cause a decrease in patient care. "when you have more patients, you also have to have enough doctors," Dr. Pardes Continued, " I think there are areas of medicine where there are distinct shortages." He also estimated that they were 30% short on doctors. This number needs to be increased in order to properly care for patients.

The potential issues facing New York City hospitals --too little staff, too many new patients was not a concern in a small town, where the health-care reform bill was seen as a step in the right direction. " I don't think they are adding people [patients], the hospitals will just get paid" said Kelly Rapp a staff member St. Lukes hospital in Pennsylvania.

Hospital visits that once went unpaid will now be covered by insurance. This could impact the often long waits in hospital emergency rooms. " I think that it will reduce the load in emergency rooms," She continued," the people who can't go to the doctor will go."

The effects of the health-care reform bill may vary greatly between the city and the suburbs, but nobody will know how successful it is until 2014, when the bill takes full effect.