I've worked as the IT guy in a hospital, and have talked to our "finance guy", and he says the same thing--outpatient surgeries and childbirths pay for Medicare (in)patients and the ER.
And yes, there is inefficiency unrelated to Medicare, and yes, I've seen the anecdote about how doctors who own an MRI machine refer patients to get MRIs six times more frequently.
But Medicare underpaying, alongside what I remember hearing was a "bad payor mix" from ER patients, hurts.
If you're truly curious about how healthcare works, follow this blog http://histalk2.com/ and get a flavor for what's concerning IT people (which oftentimes is money).
And yes, there is inefficiency unrelated to Medicare, and yes, I've seen the anecdote about how doctors who own an MRI machine refer patients to get MRIs six times more frequently.
But Medicare underpaying, alongside what I remember hearing was a "bad payor mix" from ER patients, hurts.
If you're truly curious about how healthcare works, follow this blog http://histalk2.com/ and get a flavor for what's concerning IT people (which oftentimes is money).