Business

Is There No Shame In Medical Game?

After losing an anti-trust lawsuit in the United States District Court which generated attorney fees of $10,000,000 on the part of the winners, St. Lukes Health Foundation is sending out letters begging for cash from the community.

St. Luke’s Foundation is using the excuse of “National Doctors Day” March 30 to give everyone a chance to donate a “Gift of Gratitude” to a doctor who may have “touched your heart in a meaningful way.”

Not to confuse anyone, but if you give a “tip” using the enclosed coupon, the doctor won’t get the cash. The money goes to St. Luke’s. The doctor just gets a certificate of appreciation.

There are those who might suggest St. Luke’s administrators must have undergone “cajone transplants,” because it takes a big set to buy up doctor practices, fight the State of Idaho, the United States Government, and St. ALphonsus and then ask people to DONATE to the cause!

For more, visit their WEBSITE.

Comments & Discussion

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  1. Unbelievable in many ways! They brought it all on to themselves.
    Perhaps it’s the High Dollar Doc’s that can contribute to their cause by themselves.

  2. Zefareu Privatis
    Mar 24, 2014, 12:27 pm

    “Gift of gratitude” to a doctor?! Oh my goodness, that is the most audacious idea I’ve heard in a long time!

  3. BoiseCitizen
    Mar 24, 2014, 12:47 pm

    Because they can. I have heard St. Lukes is capping all nurses pay raises, not matching future employee retirement donations and limiting vacation time accrual and usage. It is all about the “Benjamins” for the “non-profit”.

  4. St. Lukes is a deplorable organization.
    Time to remove their non profit exemption.

  5. I encourage everyone to read about IDAHO GIVES. This event started last year to help connect amazing nonprofits with potential donors. Please consider finding your favorite nonprofit and donating on this day.

    http://www.idahogives.org/

    I am giving this year to Recreation Unlimited. They helped my son learn to ski and now I am a volunteer and board member with them. http://idahogives.razoo.com/story/Recreation-Unlimited

  6. Grumpy ole guy
    Mar 24, 2014, 7:22 pm

    My own cynicism peaked when I learned that Blue Cross / Blue Shield is granted non-profit status in Idaho. Not a whole lot has surprised me about Idaho politico-business shenanigans since then. One party politics at its most they are all in bed together incestous best.

  7. GoG, BC/BS being non-profit “in Idaho” has nothing to do with Idaho or Idaho politics. It’s a quality some theorize allows an insurance company to focus on things other stock price.

    Take for example your liberal brethren to the NW in the weed state of Washington where 2 nonprofit insurance companies have amassed over 1 BILLION dollars in their coffers.
    Any cynicism left over for the Washington State politico-business shenanigans?
    http://www.insurance.wa.gov/laws-rules/legislation-rules/legislation/non-profit-health-surplus/

  8. It’s an unfortunately reality that many nonprofits that really need money and are doing good things, don’t get adequate funding; meanwhile the big nonprofits that don’t really ‘need’ it, easily get more and more funding.

  9. St. Luke’s didn’t even pause to consider the anti-trust verdict or resultant legal fees. In short order, they are absorbing the entire Elks System (hospital and outpatient facilities alike). The empire keeps growing.

  10. This is nothing but crony/fascist capitalism with big connected interests using the Government to rig markets at the expense of everyone else, the ultimate aim being power and truckloads of money. They benefit, while the patients, and doctors all loose. And it’s only getting worse. And now they come back to the folks whom they have repeatedly screwed, and ask for a handout. Gall indeed.

  11. a person could go buy a nice thank you card and send it to your doctor without going through St Lukes foundation for “National Dr. Day”…. and it would probably mean more to your Doctor.

    But of course why would St Lukes foundation want you to do that?

    Just saying

  12. It’s a good thing Obamacare will fix this horribly broken system. I’m so pleased Great Leader chose to focus on all that was wrong and make it right with his new system of health care taxes placed on the low and middle wage workers.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_error

    Amazing isn’t it!

  13. I have a different angle on the doctor thank you. I am a long-time patient of a specialist practice now owned by St. Luke’. I just got a voicemail from the appointment desk regarding confirming an appointment made four months ago. In the call, I was told that the practice is very busy and that if I did not call to confirm the appointment, it could be cancelled and someone else would move into my scheduled time.

    Gee, should I say thank you for selling to a hospital that raised the price of lab work and office visits and ignores the long-time doctor / patient relationship? Perhaps, I spoke too quickly. For the same price of a doctor visit; I now get to see a Physician’s Assistant with much less training.

  14. St. Lukes charges 3-4x as much for the same service/procedure, as your doctor would have charged in his/her private office. Insurance pays this difference; Government pays this difference. All the lobbying pays off ultimately (for them) and when markets are destroyed, care ultimately suffers and costs blow up. Should be no surprise really.

  15. Rod in SE Boise
    Mar 26, 2014, 11:43 am

    St Lukes is a deplorable organization, but I have always received great care there.

    And for all of you who think Obamacare had anything to do with this, you are, of course, totally wrong. Obamacare only attempts to fix problems with health INSURANCE – it has nothing to do with the quality of care you get nor how much doctors and hospitals charge you or how much nurses are paid.

    Mergers, whether it be airlines, phone companies, cable TV companies, cell phone companies or hospitals. are ALWAYS bad for the consumer.

  16. Rod, you are flat wrong about Obummercare. It changes/restrict everything. And will eventuality ration your care.

  17. Rod in SE Boise
    Mar 27, 2014, 6:57 pm

    No, you are flat wrong. Just call your local death panel or Sarah Palin! LOL

  18. Sarah Palin has done more for Alaska misfits than many realize but she isn’t a part of this.
    Blue Cross of Idaho has changed recently as well. Doctor’s agree to accept them however what my grief has been is that what they BC doesn’t cover I am sent a bill for remaining amount. It wasn’t like this prior. If St. Lukes is receiving additional funds for what insurance companies don’t pay then are they gaining double dipping?
    I suggest we sent them a truck load of Monopoly toy money as see how they digest this and share the wealth. They can’t handle competitors of other services and want to control (profit) all medical – well it didn’t happen.

  19. Rod – the market rigging behavior of the insurance industry was enabled by the Government in the first place. They have no intention of fixing anything meaningful. Obamacare was written by industry insiders for the benefit of industry insiders, and addresses only superficial issues, but cost shifts loads on to young people, and creates more costs and more collateral damage. As long as people believe that big Government and their friends (hospital corps, insurance, pharma) are the solution to what is fundamentally a lack of functioning health care markets – nothing positive (for the folks) will be accomplished. Which is why this whole mess is spiraling out of control, and getting rapidly worse. Oh well. We get what we vote for. And we are getting it….right up the doo dah. Phil says hi.

  20. Chuck Woods
    Apr 18, 2014, 7:26 pm

    It is amazing the downward spiral that these comments devolve into. You can’t blame the unbridled ambition that is St. Lukes on the Feds or on Obamacare. What you can do, regardless of your insurance or lack of it, is to shop for every medical service and to always ask the price. Make them go through the process of pricing. Always. There are options in Boise, and outside of Boise.

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