[sham]

Anyone who supports this new provision has not thought it through. I just lived and continue to live this new Medicare requirement. My wife 65yo and a Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) patient had her aortic valve replaced a couple weeks ago. This Medicare mandate was the subject that several doctors and nurses were talking about. When the government makes mandates (usually with good intentions) there are always unintended consequences. The new mandate could cost more money than it saves because hospitals would rather see you die in the hospital than go home and then be readmitted later. Thus, hospital stays will last longer for serious illnesses, AND the real problem with extended stays is that the longer one is in a hospital, the greater the chance of contracting a serious staff infection or some other illness. The other end of the problem is that hospitals will be reluctant to readmit a previously treated patient even if the patient becomes dangerously ill. This is a serious consequence for CHF patients because numerous hospital stays is the norm for them.

The way doctors will get around this new provision is to readmit under the identity of a new medical condition. If my wife has to be readmitted, they will try to use something like kidney impairment (for example) rather than a heart based problem. The law looks good on paper but likely will not work in reality. The law reflects a business decision, not a decision in favor of an individual's health. "We must pass it to find out what is in it." Well, we are finding out what is in it and it is not good.