TOM,
You would love University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Used to be the big teaching hospital in Pittsburgh.
Then they started buying up regional hospitals.
Then they started UPMC insurance.
When Blue Cross bought a hospital that possed them off, having patients go to a competitor, then they had to pay the competitor through insurance.
Exactly what UPMC did when they started insurance, but they didn’t see it that way…
They decided that their hospitals wouldn’t accept Blue Cross insurance, which put the rural western half of PA in a bind. All our hospitals are UPMC affiliates.
Effectively, they kicked the nations biggest health insurance out of western Pa.
They weren’t done.
They co-opted all the docs.
Either by threatening to pull privileges, or insurance coverage of patients. There isn’t a “Dr. Yanoshak’s office anymore. It’s UPMC Urology, the doctors name is in small letters on a sign designed to make that changeable. They forced him to sell the practice.
When a walk in clinic franchise announced they were opening a clinic here, they didn’t like that.
Can’t have folks getting after hours care and them not getting $300 ER fees. They immediately announced they were opening one “next year”.
The franchise saw the writing on the wall and pulled out.
That was four or five years ago, a walk in clinic has never even been mentioned again.
Next was hospital services. Our small hospitals have been reduced to low level ERs and out patient services.
If my wife was pregnant, we would have to pass 2 hospitals on the 40mile drive to a hospital with on/gyn facilities. We are lucky, it’s all 4 lane and not as far as others have to drive.
But, there is still one thing lef….
Drugs.
But of course, that can’t be ignored.
They have cut the money to pharmacies to the bone.
It’s killing the small ones, several have closed.
UPMC has shut off others.
Early on, many customers were forced to CVS.
But now it’s so bad,
CVS has even complained.
I’m pretty certain that this push has now reached a certain equilibrium here. The capacity is about maximized, less pharmacies would create problems. I’m sure mandating main in drugs is coming down the pipeline soon. Wouldn’t be surprised to get to where Walmart is the only one left if you need something NOW.
And I’d bet that will incur some punitive surcharge, like ER fees.
I keep waiting for monopoly/antitrust charges.
When big companies merge, the government has to
decide if it creates a monopoly.
Insurance, hospitals, doctors, drugs, half a state under their control, expansion into Maryland and Ohio.
With a facility in Ireland. (Yeah, not kidding)
This isn’t a monopoly?
Someone’s tapping into the Monopoly money!
