Uncertain fate of Obamacare causes some hospitals to halt projects, hiring

[inanna]

Source: Reuters

By Robin Respaut and Yasmeen Abutaleb
Reuters March 23, 2017

(Reuters) - Uncertainty surrounding the Republican plan to replace Obamacare is forcing some U.S. hospitals to delay expansion plans, cut costs, or take on added risk to borrow money for capital investment projects, dealing an economic blow to these facilities and the towns they call home.

Hospitals typically lay out multi-year operating plans that prioritize investments, such as new clinics, medical wings, technology or other projects that help draw in more patients and increase revenue. In addition to enhancing patient care, these projects are vital to the local economy as a driver of jobs ranging from construction and maintenance to restaurants and transportation.

Denver Health Medical Center, for example, opened a new $26.9 million clinic in the city's southwest in 2016 to provide care to an area lacking in health services and saw more patients within six months than it had expected over two years. The health system planned to build or remodel five more facilities based on the new clinic's success.

But since November's election, when Republicans swept the White House and Congress, Denver Health has deferred $73.7 million-worth of construction projects that had been planned to serve more low-income residents, many of whom were newly insured under Obamacare.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/uncertain-fate-obamacare-causes-hospitals-halt-projects-hiring-121230784--sector.html

[lambchopp59]

1. I saw it coming. 2010 all over again. Nervous healthcare job market crashed with the economy.

Most idiotic of all, the fact-free support of "repeal Obama care" just because it had his name.
I don't see myself living here anymore in four years. My entire retirement savings, everything I owned except the trailer I live in now I lost in a medical catastrophe in 2009 after I got mugged. I had to sell my home, my classic car, completely wipe out my retirement savings with significant penalties for early withdrawal, and go into well over 30,000 in Care Credit debt to put me back together as soon as I was discharged from the initial hospitalization and my insurance kicked me off their plan.
I'll stick with the healthcare job I have now as long as I can. But I've seen this movie before: Going from being appreciated for caring, gentle care to being reminded how lucky we all are to have our jobs every meeting, reminders that layoffs will come for any of the "low performers", being coerced into working overtime without pay regardless how illegal that is.
Thank you very F***ing much, idiots, for putting the billionaire's new puppet in office. Hope you enjoy how you'll get screwed, sooner or later. I'll see many of the same clowns who waved the flags for Trump at the desert shanty towns again, just as it was in 2010.
The same who wondered what was wrong when their GWB hero and trickle-down cronies they voted in then caused them to lose their homes and livelihoods.