Editor’s note: This commentary is by Sharon Gutwin, who is a physical therapist and the owner of the RehabGYM, and a member of the Green Mountain Care Board advisory committee.
[T]he government usually notices and discourages insidious, unrestrained growth of any single business entity providing a commodity the public is dependent upon. Left unchecked, the natural consequences to any monopoly are loss of choice, price increases, stifled innovation and assorted ethical quandaries. Are we facing what resembles a cancer that has found a way to grow undetected as a threat? I recognize that I am calling into question what is considered “motherhood and apple pie,” and mean no disrespect by challenging, but we at least need to go into the monopolization of health care with eyes wide open.
There is a national trend happening in health care that gives more power, control and money to merge hospitals. These mega-hospitals are growing fast and beyond their original scope of practice, taking on business such as primary care, specialty clinics, wellness/prevention, and medical equipment.
Contrary to what the term implies, a nonprofit status does not reflect the actuality of profit. Mega-hospital CEOs can have a multi-million-dollar compensation packages without raising a regulatory eyebrow. Not only top administrators, but all employees of the hospital receive higher compensation than in the private sector. They can spend $5.7 million just in rebranding themselves. Essentially, their budgets manifest what private care businesses cannot even dream to afford.
Mega-hospitals mobilize highly paid professional consultants to convince regulatory boards and politicians their appetite for expansion is imperative. Arrangements are made with insurance companies to pay them more for identical services than what private practice is paid. Add on revenue streams of public funding and charity and we have wealth, power and growth with no apparent end.
Is the monopolization of health care truly in the best interest of the public? Is it worth sacrificing patient choice and provider employment choice? Is traveling farther and to fewer locations to receive medical care better? And what happened to the value of a free market? Isn’t competition a stimulus to better service … efficiencies … innovation …?
I encourage others to google “monopolization of health care” to learn more and express your opinion. You can make comments directly to the Green Mountain Care Board online at gmcboard.vermont.gov/board/comment/public-comment
I also would love to know more of the public’s perspective to guide me in my role on the Green Mountain Care Board Advisory Committee. You can reach me at sharon@kismetplace.com.
And for the record, I do love motherhood and apple pie … just as a choice.
