It’s that time of year again for the county hospitals to start complaining about budget cuts and threatening to close their doors. I get that times are tough and the amount of people paying taxes decreases every day. What I don’t understand, is how organizations that bill for their services, in addition to receiving subsidies can be doing so bad?

The first complaint I typically hear is; “We get all the bums, drunks and non-paying patients”. I absolutely agree. However, there is no reason why they should be the place that all the people with no insurance go. They are fully functional and capable hospitals just like the private-based hospitals in the same area, who don’t receive subsidies.

Why don’t these hospitals adopt specialties, advertise, secure HMO contracts, and expand, just like every other hospital? The mentality that only people without insurance go to county hospitals is ridiculous. They need to be in competition to increase their revenue. Start convincing the 58 year-old with chest pain and insurance that the county hospital is the best place to go.

Perhaps I’m just a dumbass, narrow-minded, paramedic who has no idea what he’s talking about, but doesn’t it seem reasonable that if these hospitals ran themselves like a business, that they might succeed like a business? Couldn’t this make a difference in the cost of healthcare all together? Any insight to this matter would be much appreciated.