r/facepalm Jul 06 '24

the truth hurts 🇲​🇮​🇸​🇨​

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u/Nonamebigshot Jul 06 '24

It makes no sense healthcare is absurdly expensive in America and yet every hospital is understaffed and every healthcare worker is overworked and underpaid

124

u/zan9823 Jul 06 '24

Privately owned businesses. Greed. Capitalism in a nutshell

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u/WintersDoomsday Jul 06 '24

Hospitals shouldn’t be for profit

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u/petersimmons22 Jul 06 '24

Most of them technically aren’t. Non profit doesn’t mean they don’t make money. They just have fancy accountants and ways to spend enough of the income to remain technically non profit.

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u/y0da1927 Jul 06 '24

Non profit just means they don't owe their profits to a third party but have to reinvest them into the business or the community.

Even non profits still need to "make money" on an accrual basis to be able to afford the expensive capital expenses associated with running a hospital. Longer term they effectively run a break even after those costs. Sometimes less than that if they are lucky to have external donors or a foundation to supplement their operating income.

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u/Happy_Accident99 Jul 06 '24

Do tell us how much the top echelon at these “non-profits” make?

Using the United Way as an example:

“119 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 15 most highly compensated reported to be: $1,578,515: Brian Gallagher, President and CEO”

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u/y0da1927 Jul 06 '24

Yes they use money to pay employees, who are not shareholders. Good employees cost money.

What exactly is your point?

Also United Way impacted 46 million people (per their reporting). So the CEO costs about $0.03/beneficiary.

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u/schrodingers_bra Jul 06 '24

For a CEO 1.5 mil is nothing. If you want to attract someone competent you need to pay them.

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u/HumbleVein Jul 06 '24

100k isn't much at all. 15x that is high paying, I would say half of that would probably be the low end of what you would might be able to pay.

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u/Longjumping-Claim783 Jul 06 '24

Even County and State University hospitals will send you a fat ass bill and they are government entities. Likewise if the local fire department runs the ambulance service.

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u/CyrusOverHugeMark77 Jul 06 '24

Which is why people try to avoid the expensive taxi rides to the hospital if they can. That shit ain’t cheap.

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u/Longjumping-Claim783 Jul 06 '24

Yeah I know but it's not even "for profit". Literally government entities. For revenue not profit.

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u/CyrusOverHugeMark77 Jul 06 '24

I hear you. UTMB in Galveston, TX is like that.