Patient care quality suffers. Of course, none of this is admitted publicly. Public Relations representatives are hired to make all decisions appear to be made for the welfare of the public. This state of affairs is a disgrace and threatens to destroy the fine health care system we have in the United States. If this trend continues, only the very rich or poor will get health care, while the working middle-class may have to accept whatever health care they can get from corporate health plans, if they have any health benefits at all.
Hospices can and do play the same games of cutting corners.
RN case managers, social workers, chaplains, counselors, and home health aides may struggle to cover all the cases they have. Fewer staff hired means smaller payrolls and less expense. The hospice saves money. Staff fear losing their jobs, so they keep quiet and do the best they can, slowly burning out emotionally in the process. Of course, ethical administrators will not reward themselves with obscene salaries in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions while patients go without basic care.