General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The only way to control soaring healthcare costs is to have single payer [View all]ellennelle
(614 posts)oops, forgot to reply to that part.
it seems you are missing the fact that those hospitals were forced to close due to competition from the larger hospitals, which have been swallowing them up (essentially violating anti-trust laws, imho; but i digress again). this would NOT happen in a single payer system that exists solely to see that all citizens are provided healthcare, with NO concerns for profit or shareholders.
folks compulsively underestimate the rapacious power of that profit motive, esp. in healthcare, and how much revenue it sucks out of the system. take the market OUT of healthcare, and it would work far far better for everyone concerned, including - if not esp. - rural hospitals. doctors in it for the big bucks might not want to stay in the profession. but, having worked with tons of them, i can tell you, the profession would be better off without their kind.
but you'll not find me pitying the poor shareholders who have been sucking at this trough for decades. they make my skin crawl, frankly.