[Noah930]

Really sorry to hear that, Jeremy.

To the OP, in general hospitals try to get rid of patients as quickly as possible, so I'm not sure the situation is as you think it is. It's all about Length of Stay. Kind of like mechanics and book rate. Insurances pay a set fee for a diagnosis (or procedure for that diagnosis). If a patient stays shorter than the LOS, the hospital makes a little more money. If the patient stays longer than the LOS, the hospital loses money. So the push (from administration) is to get people out as quickly as possible. For certain procedures that are expected to be of the outpatient variety (like MRIs or colonoscopies), the hospital doesn't make any money on that admission, unless there is a complication that necessitates the hospital stay (i.e. uncontrolled pain, nausea, allergic reaction).

edit: One area where I have seen hospitals try to keep patients for longer than "normal" concerns reimbursement for implanted hardware. For surgeries that are deemed minor enough to not require hospitalization (for day-surgery procedures), the implanted hardware is not reimbursed by insurance. Plates and screws and artificial joints may easily cost a few thousand dollars. That gets "eaten" by the hospital (or surgery center). The insurance reimbursement for the facility may not be enough to cover the cost of the hardware. So for same-day surgeries, the facility eats the cost of the hardware. Those surgeries may actually be money losers for the facility. However, if a patient stays overnight, then insurance reimburses the facility for the implanted hardware. So I have seen instances where patients were scheduled for day surgery, but then admitted for "pain control" afterwards so that the hospital could get the implanted hardware reimbursed by insurance. Which is somewhat retarded, because now the insurance company has to pay for the hardware as well as a night in the hospital.