Dignity Health system is one of the three big providers in Santa Cruz, Sutter Health and Kaiser being the other two. My Personal Care Provider is with Dignity but I also have gotten care for decades from a Doc who ended up with Sutter. You can’t believe the number of mailers, phone calls and texts I get from them urging me to switch to Medicare Advantage. I moved slightly out of Santa Cruz County a few years ago and they found out about it.
During my last visit my PCP said this to me: “Dignity Health has told me to tell you that you should find another PCP closer to where you live.” We went on to discuss what a nightmare the corporate takeover of the health care system has become. And incidentally, Dignity can’t currently make me switch, though we both worry that’s coming.
Apparently the investment fund overlords of the big healthcare providers have determined that they can make a bunch more money by taking advantage of the Advantage system. It was Set up, after all, to mollify the big Insurers who would lose out when Obamacare became law. The insurers and the health care systems see mutual advantage in working together to more fully privatize the health care system. Taking the long game, as they always do, they’re trying to make it so miserable for Obamacare and Medicare patients that we’ll all switch. It seems to be working. (Thom Hartmann writes extensively on this if you want the sordid details).
Of course, If Trump gets in, kiss decent, affordable health goodbye entirely.
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