A new study released by Navigant Consulting, Inc. outlined the danger that Arizona hospitals would face under a government-run health insurance system. The study detailed that under a system where 85% of Arizonans receive their health insurance through a government-run public insurance option (either through their employer or by their own individual choice), nearly 40% of the rural hospitals in Arizona would be “at high risk of closure”. This would be due to the low Medicare reimbursement rates that are the basis for many of these government-run health care proposals. The study further concludes that to stave off closures, these rural hospitals in Arizona would need to shutter various satellite facilities, downgrade emergency services, and terminate clinical and administrative staff.
The study comes as much debate is centered around our country’s health care policy. Recent political debates in the race to become the Democrat nominee for President have been dominated by health care policy discussion, with most Democrat contenders supporting either a Medicare-for-All approach or a public option approach. Former Vice President Joe Biden has been one of the few outspoken Democrats to strongly support strengthening the current system, but even his policy proposal has a public-option component, which the New York Times reported would “threaten the A.C.A. in unexpected ways.”
The study concluded that nationally, as many as 55% of rural hospitals could be at high risk of closure. These 1,037 hospitals spread across 46 states represent more than 63,000 staffed beds and over 400,000 employees.
To read more on the study’s findings, CLICK HERE
