The New York Times online reported today on the legal troubles of a large hospital chain that is now facing Justice Department investigation as well as numerous private lawsuits. The article can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/24/business/hospital-chain-said-to-scheme-to-inflate-bills.html?action=click&contentCollection=Business%20Day®ion=Footer&module=MoreInSection&pgtype=Blogs
The for profit hospital chain is Health Management Associates, whose shareholders have just approved its acquisition by Community Health Systems. This merger will create the country’s second largest hospital chain (by revenue), including over 200 hospitals.
“Every day the scorecards went up, where they could be seen by all of the hospital’s emergency room doctors. Physicians hitting the target to admit at least half of the patients over 65 years old who entered the emergency department were color-coded green. The names of doctors who were close were yellow. Failing physicians were red.”
Techniques like this ensured many healthy hospital patients who created lucrative bills for Medicare and Medicaid, as well as private insurers. Uninsured patients were naturally given short service, as their bills usually went unpaid. This is just one example of the overtreatment epidemic that affects American medicine. Patients who are well-insured are “soaked” with unnecessary tests and treatments, while uninsured patients are left to die.
This overtreatment/undertreatment combination has led to medical costs that are double those of other developed countries, all of whom have national health care systems with universal coverage. At the same time, life expectancies are shorter than those of other developed countries, and infant mortality rates are higher. This problem will not be solved until for profit (and similar “not for profit” ) systems are either highly regulated or abolished entirely.
In this case, the soaking was the primary responsibility of the former head of HMA, Gary D. Newsome, who left last year after four years of predatory management. Numerous employees who complained about his practices were fired and have sued the hospital chain. Here is his photograph, from the Times article. Doesn’t he resemble George W. Bush?
Valley in the San Bernadino Mountains
A comment by Paul from California
- Paul
- California
Dr. Donald Tashkin is the world’s leading authority on the subject of the effects of smoking pot on the lungs and is responsible for the majority of research in this field. He is the Medical Director of the Pulmonary Function Lab at the UCLA Medical Center. It was his early research that discovered the carcinogens in pot smoke and bronchial tissue changes that everyone talks about and became the basis for the gov’t.’s claim of a link to lung cancer.
However, after 30 years of NIDA funded research aimed at finding the negatives of pot smoking and drug abuse he states that he “has been unable to find any positive association at all with increased rates of lung cancer, emphysema or COPD in even the heaviest long term chronic smokers.” None. In fact their rates were lower. They also had lower rates of head, neck and throat cancer.
“We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use. What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect.”
Marinol only contains THC and none of the other many therapeutic cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids that make whole cannabis much more effective. Most patients and physicians don’t like the effects or lack thereof of Marinol.
Every other painkiller including aspirin is far more dangerous than cannabis.
Get educated.
- In reply to JK
- Jan. 5, 2014 at 4:44 pm
Miyamoto Musashi’s Rules
Several centuries ago, a great swordsman named Miyamoto Musashi wrote a book, known as the “Book of Five Rings”, which gave instruction in kendo, the art of sword fighting. He included a list of rules which he felt would be helpful to anyone attempting to learn kendo. These rules are helpful to anyone. They are as follows:
1. Do not think dishonestly.
2. The Way is in training.
3. Become acquainted with every art.
4. Know the ways of all professions.
5. Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters.
6. Develop intuitive judgement and understanding for everything.
7. See those things which cannot be seen.
8. Pay attention even to trifles.
9. Do nothing which is of no use.
To these, I like to add a military precept which is of unknown origin:
Time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted.
Fuzzy Moss
This would be a great picture but it’s out of focus.
Garden Spider
This spider grew in a tomato garden in summertime North Dakota. It is known as an orb-weaver.
Bulrushes
Moon
Four Presidents, Black Hills, South Dakota
Here’s a view of the famous rock with all the trees in the foreground included.
There were these two bums who hung out on this convenient street-side seat near a street corner in Custer (maybe) South Dakota. I leaned out of the window of the driver’s side of my Ford pickup and shot this photograph. Two unknown bums.
