SCROLL DOWN FOR OUR ORIGINAL STORY...
By Jim Keworth
Gazette Blog Editor
Tuesday morning meanderings...
Scroll down the Blog and you will find an insightful contribution on Benghazi by former (and damn good, especially compared to the present company) Payson Mayor Bob Edwards, a longtime friend whose views tend to the right of the political spectrum. We are very happy to post those views because they serve as a useful counterpoint.
This Tuesday morning, however, Washington Post Syndicate Columnist Richard Cohen, writing in The Arizona Republic, offered a counterpoint to Edwards' counterpoint headlined "The Benghazi Syndrome: For GOP, there is no cure." Cohen writes, in part:
"It is good to find out how this (Benghazi) happened - who's responsible for the inadequate security, etc. - and it is also good to hold the Obama administration accountable for putting out a misleading statement. But the record will show that a thorough report was in fact compiled. It's authors were Thomas Pickering, an esteemed retired diplomat, and Adm. Mike Mullen, an equally esteemed retired chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff. They found the standard mistakes and snafus - but no crime.
"Watergate, though, was a crime. Iran-contra was a crime. Government officials were convicted, and some of them went to prisoin. Fudging a press release is not a crime."
As we await the Roundup's coverage of PRMC, you can read Cohen's entire column by clicking on opinions.azcentral.com. And if you have a few minutes left over, pick up the phone and call 1-800-332-6733 to order your Republic subscription. If you were already a Republic subscriber, you would have learned about PRMC on its front page last Saturday morning.
And if there's one thing Bob Edwards and I will always agree on it's that informed people need to make up their own minds after examining both sides of an issue. Let's hope the Roundup gives its readers that opportunity today.
OUR ORIGINAL STORY...
PRMC RANKS 3RD IN AZ FOR HIGHEST MARKUP
BIG NEWS
By Jim Keyworth
Gazette Blog Editor
Medicare has just released data on how much the health care industry charges for the 100 most common medical procedures and Payson Regional Medical Center (PRMC) has the third highest price markup in Arizona. In a front page graphic in today's (Saturday, May 11) Arizona Republic, PRMC is shown charging $108,200 for a joint replacement (highest in the state) compared to the state's lowest charge for the same procedure - $15,527 at Tuba City Regional Health Care.
The Republic article by Ken Alltucker and Ronald J. Hansen lists Western Regional Medical Center in Bullhead City as the most expensive, followed by Dignity Health's Mercy Gilbert Medical Center and then PRMC. The Bullhead City facility, which charges over seven times what Medicare pays, is owned by the same parent company as PRMC - Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, the nation's second-largest for-profit hospital chain. Community Health did not return the Republic's phone calls about its pricing practices.
By comparison, the least expensive facility is Yavapai Regional Medical Center in East Prescott Valley. While Western Regional charges an average of $72, 748 for the top 100 procedures, the Prescott facility charges just $25,107. The Medicare survey is based on 2011 data, the most recent available.
Since we're guessing your Payson Roundup won't touch this story (PRMC is a major Roundup advertiser and has a tight relationship with the paper), you can read the entire Republic story by picking up a copy of today's edition or clicking on azcentral.com. Better yet, support responsible journalism by subscribing to the Republic by calling 1-800-332-6733.
If the Roundup does do a story, we're betting it's because of the Gazette Blog's coverage, and it'll be interesting to see how they spin it. Here's a few "spins" we anticipate: 1) The markup may be high, but that's not what Medicare actually pays. 2) Of course health care is going to cost more in a small community. 3) You get what you pay for.
4 comments:
You think that the Payson Roundup is extreme right wing and the Gazette Blog is just left of center?
You can't be serious.
The Payson Roundup no doubt leans to the right but you are WAY left of center. Yes, way left.
Your breaking story about our local medical center having the third highest medical procedures costs among facilities in Arizona may affect many of us directly. But it depends.
I haven't read about it in detail, but I do know that for every procedure there are different cost estimates based on the patient's profile. That is, if a medical facility aqccepts Medicare patients, then it must charge an amount approved by Medicare. Or, they charge an amount that a patient's medical insurance will pay. That is why, under Obamacare, the elimination of the pre-existing condition ineligibility clause is so important. Had a patient's plan not covered a pre-existing condition, then the medical facility would have been able to charge the patient for as much as it could get away with. And that is why requiring everyone to obtain medical insurance is so important - so the facility will charge an insurance company an amount that will be paid under their agreement, and not charge an uninsured patient an amount that will bankrupt him or her forever.
But the bigger question is why our local newspaper is remaining silent? This is news, whether it adversely affects an advertiser and crony or not. Who are they working for anyway?
Regarding the first comment above, I guess it kind of depends on where you put yourself on the political spectrum. One man's "leans left" is another's "extreme left." Believe me, I could go a great deal further left than I have.
But thanks for the comment. Now let's focus on why the Roundup doesn't seem to want to do this story. Could it be ... oh, I don't know ... SATAN!!!! Seriously, this is BAD, BAD, BAD JOURNALISM - whether you lean right or left.
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