I am a RN working in Hemodialysis. I am a nurse for 25 years. I have worked in almost every clinical setting.
I have worked in areas from the ER to Cardiac, and even Neonatal ICU. Now I work in Dialysis. I started my career in NY, moved to Florida and worked OR and Recovery room there. Now I am in Georgia working in Hemodialysis. I have discovered that End stage renal disease is the only diagnosis that CMS (center for medicare and medicaid) is completely covered. And the only diagnosis that is recognized in this setting. Complete goverment payment!!! You can be an ILLEGAL ALIEN with Renal failure and receive dialysis on the TAX PAYER!!!!!!! Yes!!!! Everything from their treatments to the very expensive medicine called Epogen which helps them make new red blood cells. How expensive you ask?????? How about $1000.00 per ML.
Yup!! oh and by the way the average patient receives about 10,000 units per treatment.
Guess who is paying to keep the renal patients blood count within normal range(for dialysis patients)
mostly UUUUUUUUUUU!!!!! And by the way the centers for medicare and medicaid (CMS) has decided that a dialysis pt. hemoglobin is OK if it is between 10 and 12. Normal person's hemoglobin is above 13 to be considered normal. So if my patient has a hemoglobin above 12 we get penalize and do not get paid the full amount for that treatment!!!!! So when my patients are doing really well and finally feel good and there blood count has gone up, but it went up too much and now my patient's Hemoglobin is BS!!!! I am sorry and tired of getting beat down like a dog for taking care of my patients the way they deserve!!! Oh, you all just wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You see Hemodialysis has been a completely GOVERMENT run diagnosis!!!!!!!! The only one!!! So if anyone knows a SOCIALIZED medical RX. WE in dialysis certainly do, Ask any one who works in dialysis, they will tell you that GOD help us if every diagnosis is treated like it is on dialysis.
We live it every day. Now in january 2011. the centers for medicaid and medicare have changed how the dialysis treatment will be charged for payment. Now it is called "bundling" That means we only get paid a FLAT fee for each patient. Nothing extra!!! If you get itchy during your treatment!!: sorry, you should have brought your own benadryl with you
!!!!!!!!!!!
Death Panels?????????????
Sarah Palin brought this up 1 1/2 years ago!! Well guess what??!! It is true!!
God help us if Obama's Heathcare is not repealed!! No one seems to get it!! RICH or POOR we are doomed. Please get your hat on and let's get a real patient care conversation going into the ( people's house) Whitehouse!!!!!!! Please!!!!
Christine A. Vincent R.N. C.E.N, CLNC
I hope to use this little space as a sounding board to voice my political "opinion", about the gradual but steady dissolving of the constitution of the United States of America. I would also like to bring governance back to "WE THE PEOPLE" and away from greedy politicians who care only about lining their own pockets and ignoring the voice of "WE THE PEOPLE" that they have been elected to represent.
Rmember this?
