Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. A medical institution much admired by medical professionals and touted as a model of high quality, high efficiency healthcare by no less than the President. Justifiably so, I suppose.
Recently however, Mayo decided to drop Medicaid patients from two nearby states – Nebraska and Montana, citing “low government reimbursement rates”. Government reimbursement rates are admittedly found to be low by many institutions and physician practices, not just Mayo. One wonders what happens to these patients and the hospitals that will be providing care to these patients now that Mayo is no longer available to them. Are they somehow going to be reimbursed at a higher rate than Mayo? Highly unlikely, one would think.
So, the situation is, these Medicaid patients will be shunted to their regional hospitals which will pick up the low reimbursements and continue to struggle to stay afloat. Mayo, on the other hand, will continue to be the shining example of “high efficiency” healthcare.
Bravo!
Image from Wikimedia Commons
