Surgery Center of Oklahoma Blog

A recent editorial in our local paper made the case that one answer to alleviate big hospital cost-shifting was to pass the pending provider tax…ostensibly that more money coming in from Washington (taxpayers) for Medicaid meant that costs would fall for those who actually pay for their care.  But it apparently did not occur to the author that the costs are still shifted…just to another ledger…whatever savings might appear to be realized (and really…what are the chances that the big hospitals will lower their prices just because they step up to the trough and gorge on federal matching funds) will be more than offset by the increase in federal taxes that everyone will pay!  I guess he meant that cost shifting wouldn’t be eliminated…just ….well…cough..shifted.