Of course this time he is thinking about the State’s revenue surplus and how he can get it spent before he goes out of office next year. The Montana Watchdog is reporting that Governor Schweitzer is seeking bids to develop a state run employee medical clinic. Schweitzer anticipates his new wonderful plan to be utilized by over 12,000 state employees and their families and projects that it will be saving the state over a million dollars per annum by the second year of operation. Eventually Schweitzer would also move Medicaid patients into the pool and maybe even let private residents join.
Sure sounds like a hocus-pocus system similar to ObamaCare to me. This new SchweitzerCare has Union Guru Eric Feaver all giddy with excitement and he stated he had “great expectations” from the governor’s plan. Of course this marvelous idea isn’t expected to end with just one clinic in Helena but the long-term goal is to have a “state wide presence” throughout Montana.
Just call me Doubting Thomas but when was the last time you saw anything government ran that actually was an efficient operation? Moreover shouldn’t the Governor have some sort of legislative approval before just taking it upon himself to advertise for bids for something that could mushroom into a spendoholics dream come true?
Read the bid solicitation here Source: Montana Watchdog
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This is just plain insane.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they could use the closed cancer center? Does anyone in our local government ever check into these opportunities?
I bet Shelby will
I think it makes a lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteRight now, our local hospital gets to simply make up numbers in how much they decide charge you, your insurance carrier, etc.
This would in the very least set a base price for medical services, which are currently set at premium Medicare/Merdicaid levels.
At the very least, this would be the beginning of controlled, regulated competition, which there is really none at the present moment.
I have read reports that over 80% of Emergency room visits are drug/alcohol related. Not only are ER visits the most expensive way to provide medical care (and often the only option to the uninsured) they are a direct result of the disaster of substance abuse 'treatment' in the US.
Under the current system in the US, which over 95% of drug and alcohol rehabs use 12 step (AA) methodology and theology, which has a 95% failure rate according to their OWN INTERNAL NUMBERS. It is so bad that late night comedians routinely use the word 'rehab' as a punchline.
The entire medical industry needs governmental regulation and oversight. Competition from the government would be the quickest,most efficient system of doing that, regardless of the propaganda that FAUX 'News', Sean Hannity, Glen Beck, and Rush Limbaugh promote as lobbyists for the industry.