Dear Editor:
So we all see what privatization brings. Here’s United water pumping money out of Hoboken, and at the end we’ll have a rotting water infrastructure with just enough patching up to keep it functioning. For the money they’re making they should be gradually updating the entire system. Instead of doing it in house, we’re doing it out house. Good to know we’re getting hosed.
Since privatization is such a wonderful thing we’re going to do the same for our local hospital. Less money for treating the sick and injured and more for the shareholders. We’ll get the taxpayers off the hook by sticking it into the workers and the patients. More money pumped out of the town.
One of the reasons health care is so expensive, aside from the outrageous greed of insurance parasites and disease profiteers, is the proliferation of expensive technology. These technologies are a great thing when used properly, but when over used cause more harm than good. Once a hospital or clinic has these machines there is every incentive to use them as much as possible. Before purchasing multimillion equipment it should be seen if there are others in the region to avoid unnecessary duplication of services.
Meanwhile there is also every incentive to dump the poor and uninsured. Who’s going to pick up the tab for this? At the moment a great deal of these are averaged into the costs of other services. That’s why an aspirin costs 20 bucks at a hospital. That’s why illnesses go untreated until they become expensive emergencies. The system needs to be rationalized, but with Republican’s destroying the State and Federal governments that won’t happen. The costs will be dumped on someone. That will probably be by raising insurance rates and deductibles for everybody, and cutting benefits for public sector employees, America’s latest demons.
Greg Ribot