Stop. Thief.
Maybe he is actually a nice guy. After all, he is a pediatrician, so he must like kids. And he wore a nice clean white coat on TV, so that has to mean that he’s a good guy with great intentions, right?
“Dr. Steven Federico, chief government and community affairs officer for Denver Health, points to the thousands of migrants using the new health system — some (some???) of whom can’t cover costs or don’t have medical insurance, according to the Denver Gazette.”
According to Denver Health, the uncompensated care they provide has soared over 200% from 2020, from $60 million to over $136 million annually. And it wasn’t because of the Great Virus Panic, unless you count the curious machinations it engendered. Those fiddlings led to a wide-open border, just as proxy compassionates in places like Colorado were beating their chests as sanctuary somethings, and inviting in massive, mandatory costs without a plan to recoup costs or sustain anything long-term.
Denver sidewalks are piling up with illegals, and Federico said, “It’s not surprising when they get to Denver that there’s severe and acute healthcare needs.”
No surprise there. And no surprise that a lot of people disconnected from any health care now show up as a wave of need, in a state and city that screamed “Come on in!”
The immigration issue is largely politics, and this is a medical commentary site. It would be nice, and preferable to keep those areas separate, but once people start doing good with other peoples’ money, doctors can’t seem to help themselves, and lead the do-gooder charge.
Corporate and government shill Dr. Federico brags on Denver Health fulfilling their mission of giving care to any and all “regardless of their ability to pay.” Dr. Compassion bemoans “the lack of a federal response” in paying the bill for all of the illegals, and flat out states that “We need to provide basic needs to these populations, and you know, they are coming as patients to our hospital, with basic health care needs…” “which gives me the moral authority to steal from others, because I am a doctor.” Okay, I added that last bit, but that is precisely what this guy is saying, based on his position, his opinion, and his little costume white coat. He cries about acute illness brought on “by their arduous journey,” rationalizing through emoting, telling the rest of us that we have a duty to provide this care, volunteering the rest of us for his good works. If the ABFM hasn’t recruited this guy to write their next cultural competency MOC, a great opportunity has been missed.
Federico said “a huge shout out to our mayor” for going to D.C. to meet the authors of this crime with his beggin’ bowl to plead for more money from others who have to pay for his policy statements, to which this shill responded “We’re proud to stand with the mayor in this humanitarian crisis.” This angel of mercy states in the interview that “we need to provide social infrastructure for them, places for them to stay, food for them to eat, and health care …” He then weighs in favorably on allowing the illegals to work, something that should be none of his damn business. If Federico was making these pronouncements as a private citizen, then I would go and lambast and ridicule him on an appropriate political forum (and I would). But he is being interviewed, and attempting to boss the rest of us around as a physician.
See if you can pick up the truly poisonous word in this part of the interview: “Our staff are being asked to step up, see extra patients, and then, you know, the moral strife that comes from discharging a patient not knowing if they’re going to have the money they need to fill that needed prescription, find transportation to follow up care, come back for additional care, it’s extremely strenuous on our staff…”
If you guessed “asked,” then you get why this smarmy, arrogant thug in a little costume white coat infuriates me so much. EMTALA doesn’t ask us to see patients in the ER, and Federico damn sure didn’t ask anyone to work harder for less. YOU, Dr. Fed, are the one being “strenuous” on your staff.
Responding to the interviewer’s question about whether anyone has been turned away, we get,
“Our staff are very proud to fulfill the mission of Denver Health, to provide care to everyone regardless of their ability to pay,” blah, blah, blah, EMTALA-something-something.
It’s evident that Federico is both fulfilling a paid role as a Denver Health spokesman, and that he publicly as a doctor endorses his governor and mayor in their policy goals that are horribly burdening the health care infrastructure which he represents. In doing so, he is using his position to punish his fellow physicians, nurses, other staff, insurance customers of Denver Health, local taxpayers, and patients in general, demanding that they all do more with less in order to fulfill his political (and likely financial) goals. Think I’m wrong? What about the Denver taxpayer with a leaky AAA who has to be transferred because there are no local beds open? Granted that is already a national problem, but Federico et al are only making it worse, and they know it.
That this individual takes others’ time and money by forcing his politics as a paid doctor-thug makes him no less a thief than if he had just knocked over a liquor store. Actually he is worse – the late night robber won’t force the package store to stay open later for his convenience.
It is said the Left likes this because it will bring them votes. I have to wonder. Hispanic and Muslim immigrants in particular tend to run socially conservative. Asian immigrants in my area are getting sick and tired of getting mugged and the muggers using BLM as their shield and law enforcement does nothing at the behest of government. Any plan to use immigrants to import left-wing votes may well backfire.
He is so generous. He would give anyone the shirt off my back.
With all due respect to the poor and needy of this world, it should be obvious to everyone by now that our resources are being overwhelmed by the needs of the massive illegal immigrant migration resulting from our de facto open-border policy.
No it’s Joe Biden’s open door policy that has caused this problem. Maybe next time around we’ll get a bunch of reasonable Republicans in there to slam the border shut. Having a bunch of “un” vetted people come into this country is
going to lead to big troubles later on. Mark my words.
Free medical care for our indigent is one thing, free medical care for the world’s indigent is quite another. WE CANNOT AFFORD THIS!
All I know is that for 35 years no one paid me to take emergency room call. I don’t know of any other profession that’s forced to work for free. Nurse practitioner certainly don’t provide emergency room call free of charge as an obligation.
After 35 years of paying into Medicare I now have to pay pretty much the same amount for IRMAA as I did for private insurance.
Oh and by the way I was the first generation in my family to attend college as was my wife, and both of us attended community college and lived at home.
We discovered IRMAA this year. Sold my parents’ condo , paid capital gains, paid state tax, etc., etc. and now on top of it our Medicare bill quadrupled. IRMAA went sky high automatically but friends have told me you have to fill out forms to tell the IRS it was a one-time sale that sent up your “income” and it has now been reduced to “normal” retirement levels.
Your points are totally valid and I get why you don’t like the guy in the little white coat. Unfortunately it is a totally political problem. Governors that participate in human trafficking by dumping undesirable people on other states deemed sanctuary cities is abhorrent. Why the government hasn’t stepped in to stop and prosecute these governors is beyond me. And then we have a current candidate for president who does not want the border problem resolved so he can use it as a bully pulpit while he he holds our country hostage. So until our idiots in Washington can get their act together, this will continue to be a problem. And of course health care is one area that is going to suffer greatly because of it.
How to say you’re a radical liberal without saying you’re a radical liberal. LOL.
Thanks Doug. I knew I could count on you. LOL
I’m not sure you do “get” why I dislike Dr Federico.
Do you think it proper for physicians to represent themselves as such in order to force – FORCE – social and tax policy on those who actually have to pay for it and suffer the consequences?
Do you believe this should be our role?
Why? The gubbermint is run by a bunch of borderline demented democrats who are following crazy Joe Biden’s lead.
Down the road if the democrats are still in power, they might try to grant all these illegal immigrants full citizenship without citizenship instruction and expect them to become “good” democrats. If that happens, this country will turn into a “uni-party”. Republicans and Independents will be inconsequential in the operation/conduct of the U.S. then.
Damn right! And this is one reason I walked away 1.5 years ago.