The dishonesty of America’s political class has visited its toxic brew upon New Rochelle and the surrounding community with what could well be tragic consequences; and we have been ignorant co-conspirators in its delivery.
The Sound Shore Medical Center, which includes nearby Mount Vernon Hospital and the Schaffer Extended Care Facility, has filed for bankruptcy protection. The good news is that the reorganization plan proposes that Montefiore Medical Center, in the Bronx, purchase the three entities for $54 million dollars. The smart money says the merger will go through. As with all these kinds of transactions the devil will be in the details, specifics that will no doubt reduce jobs, diminish services and adversely affect the downtown economy. Keep in mind, this is the good news.
The bad news is what happens if the plan is not approved and the hospital would have to close. That, of course, would mean no jobs or services and a devastating financial blow to the city. With luck and hard work by those involved, this catastrophe will be avoided. In any case, it is a wake-up call for all of us to pay more attention to the political process, and the dis-ingenuousness of those we elect to public office.
As you learn about the bankruptcy in the local media, you will read and hear things about the cost of technology, the “cover-their-butt” excessive testing ordered by doctors to avoid malpractice, and the power of unions to extort unneeded jobs and excessive benefits from hospital administrations. Others will tell you that Medicare, Medicaid and the insurance companies do not pay enough for some services. All of these things are true to one degree or another. But these factors are relevant the way the cost of food is relevant to someone who has lost a job. The basic economic reality for that person is compromised, with the costs of things simply exacerbating his or her circumstances.
It is fair to say that the Affordable Care Act, known as Obama Care, is not perfect. To get it passed it was beaten, disfigured, warped and made near incomprehensible by those who did not want it to pass, as well as those who were willing to do anything so that it did. It is a perfect example of an imperfect compromise that can only result from a democratic republic. It is an ugly baby, but a baby nonetheless, who can grow into a useful member of our heath care society.
If you spend time with people who work in hospitals, they will tell you of the trials and tribulations of the factors noted above; but they will also tell you something else, something that is the tipping point for hospitals on the brink: too many people come to them who have no or inadequate insurance. What is worse and obvious is that they don’t pay cash either. Worse, still, is that the issues are politically sensitive. Come on, now, don’t pretend you don’t know. All of our inner cities, likely including downtown New Rochelle, are filled with people in this country illegally. They have no insurance and can’t afford a doctor. There, I said it, it was easy. Likewise, way too many Americans make too much for Medicaid, but have no work coverage and no money for the doctor. They don’t pay either. We also have the homeless and the under-insured.
Where do you think the money is coming from to close these gaps?
The Journal News reported that Sound Shore lost $8 million in 2011 and $18 million in 2012. Throw in another $6.4 million dollars in 2011 in loses for Mount Vernon Hospital. One wonders what the amount of uncollected and/or outstanding billings are compared to these figures.
And so back we go to Obama Care and our head in the sand points. Our system has failed. Not enough people have insurance, and some will never have it unless we solve the immigration issue. Yet we allow our representatives to tell us that it is un-American to compel all to have insurance. They demonize immigrants to garner votes, instead of working out a solution, knowing that one of the effects is the closure of hospitals. We allow politicians and pundits to convince some of us that the poor deserve less care because it is their own fault that they are poor. And, worse, we allow demagogues to lead the less informed to believe that giving everyone health care is Socialism.
Sadly, most Americans don’t know what I meant by the term democratic republic, used above, much less the nuances and differences of the various forms of so-called socialism at work in the FREE WORLD.
There are those who think that charity is the way around this problem. Ronald Reagan for all his good deeds was possessed of this illusion. Surely it does help, but help is not a solution. In the case of Sound Shore, they have more volunteers and fundraisers and people doing wonderful things than almost any institution in town. One night at the annual Vitt dinner will make you blush at the generosity and involvement. But even that is not enough. The system is broken.
So here we are, like the guy who does not take care of his car, we are broken down on the highway. Read again the “did not take care” part. We did this to ourselves. Now, we can hope that the tow truck that is bankruptcy and the new repair that is Obama Care will help get us back on the road. But we need a new car, which only our input can design.
Long live Sound Shore.
