Why hospitals oppose health care bill

The Daily Herald reported that Centegra was cutting service at their Woodstock facility because of costs.

Doctors and hospitals have been opposing the new Republican health care bill. The local Republican representatives, naturally, support it.

If you look at the bill, there's a reason why hospitals oppose this bill.

When Obamacare was enacted, one of the things it did was to reduce federal payments to hospitals since the hospitals would be treating fewer uninsured patients. In the Republican bill one of the things they are doing is to leave the federal payments at the lower, Obamacare, reimbursement rate.

That shouldn't have happened. Now hospitals will be treating more uninsured patients. Throughout the healthcare system profits will go down, or consumers will have to pay higher prices. That includes higher insurance rates.

It has been reported elsewhere, that hospitals in more rural areas are simply going to close their doors.

I'll leave it to you to decide if you think you should be calling your representatives.

Wally O'Brien

Dundee Township