Open Thread - Thurs 15 May 2025 - Hospitals as Well?
Hospitals As Well?
Apparently private equity is starting to take over hospitals. As this article, 'Private Equity and Hospitals: Have They Finally Gone Too Far?', on Racket News says when talking about how people would have reacted in the old days -
I would hazard to guess that if some speculator came in who wanted to buy the hospital, leverage it up to the hilt, squeeze every last nickel out of it by skimping on supplies, cancel vital services and risk running it into the ground, well, that speculator would have been run out of town on a rail.
Private Equity! From an old lecture called 'Introduction to Private Equity'
Sounds about right to me. But, those days in the past when communities owned and controlled community resources are gone, and private equity is doing just what's described above as it gobbles up hospitals now. After all, gotta make money from health care, right? It's the 'Merican Way'!
Matt Stoller wrote about private equity in several pieces dating 6 or more years ago. I read them then, and still go over them from time to time now, just to remind myself of what private equity is and how damned evil it is. The first piece is called 'Why Private Equity Should Not Exist'. The second piece is 'Is There Anything that Private Equity Doesn't Own?' I'd say 'No, there is nothing private equity doesn't own, including hospitals!' and that's basically what Stoller says in his article. BTW, Big, Matt Stoller's newsletter, has another, more recent article by Basel Musharbash about the recent fires in LA and how, ummhmmm, the disaster was worsened as a result of over 1/2 of the LA fire department vehicles being out of service when the fires happened, because of private equity!
Is there anything good about private equity? I mean, it's probably good for some investors, and maybe little people like me can get a share, but has private equity done anything good for the public? Are some hospitals better because of private equity? Some fire departments? Some... anything?
Another Thing:
I started to pay a bit more attention to the news about teens doing violent things and, at least locally, those numbers are up. The teens with the guns, oftentimes stolen, modified guns, don't think anything will happen to them when they are caught. And they are right, there are little to no consequences. They get released back out into the public and get back to doing what they were doing, because they have to be arrested five times, with five different guns, before a judge can hold them. That is NUTS!
Ohh and locally again, yet another teen has stabbed someone at school. So, yep, it seems like teenage violence is increasing (teen points a stolen glock 19 at another student at school), although these types of things have happened in the past as well.
Ok, this thread is open! What's up, whatcha doing? Reading? Thinking? Remember, everything is interesting if you dive deep enough, so tell us about where you're diving!
Comments
Happy Thursday Everyone!
Hope it's a great day for y'all. We have cloudy skies, might even get some rain. That would be good, we are low on rainfall this month, very low. Kinda weird for a temperate rain forest area.
Whatcha doing today? How's it going? Whatcha learning and reading?
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Senator Rick Scott
wikipedia
He was governor for quite a while. When term limits blocked running again, he ran for the Senate. He fits right in. I'm pretty sure his company acquired public hospitals as part of their business.
Scott's nickname is "skeletor." With a net worth over 200 million in 2020 he was described as the wealthiest member of Congress. I don't know if this includes his wife's fortune. How does he keep getting elected?
語必忠信 行必正直
With that much money, he can afford to buy votes. n/t
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Exactly!
n/t
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Was gonna say what ....
TheOtherMaven did. He buys the votes. But then, it sure seems like a lot of them do that. Or maybe they don't buy each vote, but the buy all the media attention, and they make it so everyone knows their name... Bleh.
As for fines for his company, good. But it should be more than fines, the company should be destroyed. Period.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Of course!
Naturally, Sima, I knew when I put the question at the end, it was going to elicit a response. I thought what a Bud Abbot type straight line. Anyway, I got a laugh out of TheOtherMaven's response. Still there's a question in there somewhere.
On edit:
I remember vaguely at some point, he was at a restaurant or fast food place, and someone was heckling him with questions about his lack of integrity, unethical behavior, injuring the interests of citizens.
語必忠信 行必正直
Rick Scott morning coffee experience
語必忠信 行必正直
dont miss this bad example.
dont miss this bad example. Two 16 year olds stalked and murdered a kid at a mickey D's on the "good side" of town.
https://abc30.com/post/2-teens-charged-murder-shooting-killed-caleb-quic...
Bad Examples, indeed...
What the heck is going on with kids? Sheez.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Private equity firms simply indulge in rentierism, they
serve no useful function whatsoever. What they do is also a form of speculation in that they keep bidding up the prices of the businesses which they target, thereby exerting an "inflationary" pressure on prices all across the board.
Slight warming trend here. Meanwhile, the Z man is still whining about shit because some parts of the world do not revolve around him and his dictatorship.
History - This is the anniversary of "Bloody Thursday", May 15, 1969, During a demonstration and march over the enclosure of "People's Park" in Berkeley, CA; police and affiliated "law enforcement" warriors opened fire on the protesters, wounding many and killing James Rector.
(This should not be confused with the other "bloody Thursday", July 5, 1934, when, during the West Coast waterfront strike, police in San Francisco fatally shot two striking longshoremen)
On that cheerful note
be well and have a good one
edit - typos, punctuation
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Good info about private equity...
It's just another way to suck the blood/money out of everything, isn't it?
It's cold here, and we even got some rain. That's ok, I guess.
Bloody Thursday. I didn't know that had happened in Berkeley, in 1969. Thank you for teaching me about it.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
In the last three years,
my health insurance company has paid out ~$180k (after discounts, graft, and corruption) to the hospitals I was stuck in before, during, and after surgeries. The initial billings totaled nearly $700k.
I would hate to be one of the people without an insurance plan that had the magic recipe to get the "discounted" "negotiated" rates. Those people are seriously screwed.
I've always been amazed that the hospitals haven't simply been bought up by the insurance companies, to cut out the middle man. Let them kite their own numbers privately to themselves. There's no problem with monopolies in this country any more- there hasn't been any meaningful antitrust activity since they broke up Ma Bell. And in the current political climate, I don't see any on the horizon.
The concept of multitiered healthcare pricing is an obscenity, intended entirely to rape the unwary and/or unfortunate.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Gotta agree...
'The concept of multitiered healthcare pricing is an obscenity, intended entirely to rape the unwary and/or unfortunate.' This is exactly true. Money must be taken at every level, from just going in for a 'wellness' check to life saving surgery. And the companies that control it all have to make profits. It can't just be a break even thing, or something paid for by the government (aka the tax payers) it must make a profit. Gah.
Very glad you have insurance. I have none, well, I have the WA state AppleHealth, now. I didn't before I broke my ankle several years ago. The clinic I went to helped me get AppleHealth. They wanted me to have an operation, cost 30k, and AppleHealth would pay for a lot of it, so the hospital got me the insurance. But I went for a cast, and AppleHealth paid all the 2k the cast and the follow up visits cost!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good morning, sima!
A local hospital temporarily closed due to a funding issue.
It didn't used to be this way.
Meanwhile, what follows is a PSA:
If you are a middle aged divorcee who decides you want custody of your pre-teen son, avoid the following activities: Do not show your son porn. Do not get arrested twice for violent crimes during the pending litigation. Do not post videos in social media of yourself sitting on the sofa next to your naked underage gf drinking booze and smoking pot. Engaging in any or all of the above activities makes it too damn easy for your ex-wife to keep custody of said son. Moreover, you just might get sentenced to life in prison, stupid son of a bitch!
I hope this PSA is helpful, dear friends.
Thanks for the OT, chica!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Reminds me of this classic Chris Rock “PSA”:
https://rumble.com/vfoc7p-chris-rock-explains-how-to-not-get-your-ass-ki...
Heh...
Lately I have been watching dashcam videos and bodycam videos from the police and... Chris Rock has got it down, exactly. Black, white, whatever, do the things he says!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Very helpful PSA
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Boy that’s a melancholy tune
It could be a prelude to a dark and stormy night.
The message echoes from Gaza back to the US. “Starving people is fine.”
The kid has already learned the sekret of modern music -
dance around and shake your bootie while holding an instrument.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
That is great!
Nikko is gonna haveta learn the piano. Of course, I need to get a piano first. Maybe he can learn the guitar? He could sing with the coyotes outside when it's dark and stormy
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
An obvious frame-up job if there ever was one. Shame on the ICAO
https://johnhelmer.net/the-us-has-pushed-the-international-civil-aviatio...
And:
That time when the U.S. awarded Mafia mobster boss Meyer Lansky the Medal of Freedom:
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220614-mobster-s-wwii-medal-of-f...
Darnit...
Can't these independent bodies, like the ICAO stay independent.
As for Lansky's medal... gah. I guess the Mafia liked the Allies better than the Nazis; and the Allies gave them medals. And what that says about the Allies? *shaking my head*
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Hmm! Where have heard this line before???
Looking forward means almost nothing
If they can't learn from the past. Sheez. If they looked backwards for a bit, maybe they'd at least stop using the same excuses!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
As much as I dislike
many of the posters and most of the commenters at Zerohedge, I go there often- because there are some things that are of value.
And then, every once in a great while, they have one with which I can agree wholeheartedly.
I hope (against hope!) that this one leaves a mark...
https://archive.ph/Du6bP
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Same here regarding Zerohedge.
Her knows about that which she doth speak.
I go to various winger sites, seldom read comments, just go for the news and substance, typically disregard the opinion.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
After visiting,
I always feel that I should take a quick dip in the following substances, in sequence, no more than 20 seconds apiece: tap water, ice water, blood and offal from an abattoir, ice water, methyl-ethyl ketone, red fuming nitric acid, ice water, elemental mercury, molten asphalt, tap water, and room temperature unicorn tears. A quick buff after all that, and I’d be right as rain, youbetcha.
That doesn’t make me a bad person, does it? Asking for a friend…
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Tell your friend
that by any measure, you are fucking awesome!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
After the first line...
I was laughing in agreement. How the heck can Hillary Clinton even make any comment at all about that?
I can't read the comments at Zerohedge, but I do read the stories. It's bad enough reading the comments at my local news channels - some are very, very Maga.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so