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What happens when for-profits take over hospitals?
(Psst: It’s not good).
A
detailed study, published in
the Journal of the American Medical Association documented this
clearly: “Private equity acquisition was associated with
increased hospital-acquired adverse events, including falls and
central line–associated bloodstream infections, along with a larger
but less statistically precise increase in surgical site infections.”
Full article at:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2813379
This should not be surprising. Private equities are in
healthcare to make money, and money is made by cutting expenses and
increasing revenue. From the private equity perspective, doctors and
nurses could be making shoes just as easily as taking care of patients.
While these entities are making billions, patients, their
families, and clinical staff are suffering. And don’t
forget the taxpayers, employers, and individuals who are footing the
bill.
As a result, the US spends more on healthcare per-capita
than any other country, but we rank 67th in the international
Statista Health Index Score.
To put it bluntly: there are too many pigs feasting at the
healthcare trough… and at our
expense.
This was described by Dr. Donald Berwick in his JAMA
article:
“Salve
Lucrum: The Existential Threat of Greed in US Health Care.”
He wrote, “The grip of financial
self-interest in US healthcare is becoming a stranglehold, with
dangerous and pervasive consequences. No sector of US health care is
immune from the immoderate pursuit of profit…The cycle is vicious:
unchecked greed concentrates wealth, wealth concentrates political
power, and political power blocks constraints on greed.” Full
article at: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2801097?guestAccessKey=ffab3c72-bbd7-42d9-98cc-9799f47cc133&utm_source=silve
Sadly, for those of us who are on the front lines, this is
nothing new. Even worse is that so-called “non-profit” hospitals are
doing the same thing in order to sustain
excessive executive salaries. Common Spirit Health (formed by the
merger of Catholic Health and Dignity Health) is the largest
non-profit health system in the US. Its current CEO was paid $15
million last year with many other executives making $1-5 million. In
my home state of Maryland, where all hospitals are technically
non-profits, the executives make millions (one over $15million),
while we have the longest ER waits in the country.
The above does not address the myriad of problems affecting
America’s health and healthcare – our poor ranking in health measures
compared to other developed nations from falling life expectancy to
rising infant and maternal mortality, profiteering pharmaceutical
companies, and unaffordable medications. Medical debt continues to be
the most common cause of personal bankruptcies. And alone among
modern nations, we still lack universal health coverage.
Don’t let anyone tell you that we don’t have the money to do better.
We do. The money is
there. It's just not going to where it's
needed: to those who perform the front-line work of patient care, for
preventive services and public health, and to create an effective
affordable system that focuses on care rather than profit.
What to do? Like any problem, the first step is to recognize
and acknowledge it. And then speak up.
Feedback appreciated, and please share as appropriate.
Thanks,
Dan
Dan Morhaim, M.D.
Author: "Preparing
for a Better End" (Johns Hopkins Press)
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