by Tarus Balog
Pittsboro, NC – I wanted to examine the original Chatham Chatlist post that started this latest round of healthcare / ACA vitriol. That person had gone to Chatham Hospital in Siler City for an elective MRI and then been unhappy about the cost. This started the usual uninformed ranting that it is “all the guvvermint’s fault” whereas no one has taken the time to actually examine that first post.
I don’t get it. It seems to me that the original poster basically didn’t do a lot of research about the cost of elective procedures (which I assume, since it was elective, was not covered by their insurance) and then blamed the hospital when they got the bill. It’s as if they wrote “I bought a car at Siler City Dodge and then I found it cheaper at Pittsboro Dodge. The horror!” and everyone started blaming Obama for Dodge prices.
Oh, and it was also suggested that the reason for the high bill was that Chatham Hospital is part of UNC Health Care, which is State owned. I just want to point out that UNC Heath Care receives zero tax dollars from the State. Yup, zero.
Finally, to keep this Chathamcentric, there is probably one person you know who is alive today because of Chatham Hospital. There are places in the county which are quite distant to Randolph, UNC, Duke or Moses Cone but because there was a local hospital they got the care they needed. I don’t have any supporting evidence, but it is likely that Chatham Hospital wouldn’t exist in a totally free market economy.