“In the deal, the nurses gave up their demand for rigid nurse-to-patient ratios, which they said was needed to improve patient safety, but the hospitals called expensive and unnecessary.

In exchange, the hospitals dropped proposed cuts to pensions and health benefits. The two sides agreed to work on staffing issues through an existing system of committees at the hospitals.”

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=856491&catid=14

I read Madness’s blog and see she isn’t happy, so this isn’t a dig, just the reality.

Domino effect seems to be picking up speed.

Critics of the $5 billion high-risk pool program insist it will run out of money before Jan. 1, 2014. That’s when the program sunsets and health plans can no longer discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions.

Administration officials insist they can make changes to the program to ensure it lasts until 2014, and that it may not have to turn away sick people. Officials said the administration could also consider reducing benefits under the program, or redistributing funds between state pools. But they acknowledged turning some people away was also a possibility.Administration officials insist they can make changes to the program to ensure it lasts until 2014, and that it may not have to turn away sick people. Officials said the administration could also consider reducing benefits under the program, or redistributing funds between state pools. But they acknowledged turning some people away was also a possibility.

Who knew that Hope and Change were buzzwords for a Penn & Teller show?!

There’s already a shortage of front-line family physicians in some places and experts think that will get worse.
_People without insurance aren’t the ones filling up the nation’s emergency rooms. Far from it. The uninsured are no more likely to use ERs than people with private insurance, perhaps because they’re wary of huge bills.
_The biggest users of emergency rooms by far are Medicaid recipients. And the new health insurance law will increase their ranks by about 16 million. Medicaid is the state and federal program for low-income families and the disabled. And many family doctors limit the number of Medicaid patients they take because of low government reimbursements.
_ERs are already crowded and hospitals are just now finding solutions.
Rand Corp. researcher Dr. Arthur L. Kellermann predicts this from the new law: “More people will have coverage and will be less afraid to go to the emergency department if they’re sick or hurt and have nowhere else to go…. We just don’t have other places in the system for these folks to go.”

Hope! Change!

The vast majority of malpractice never even sees a claim file, much less a courtroom, so if suing them all is the plan, it doesn’t appear to be working out.

That will cut down on the odds you think you have of being sued 12 times. He just took nearly 30 of you out!