Letter to the Editor
Mercury News
October 5, 2011
Dear Editor,
According to your article, “Study: Worst Hospitals Treat Larger Share of Poor”, the hospitals that are considered the worst, with low quality care and high costs, are treating a higher proportion of elderly black patients and poor patients. This is leading to higher rates of deaths due to heart attacks and pneumonia. Instead of providing funding to help improve the conditions of these hospitals, the Affordable Care Act is penalizing them by cutting Medicare payments. This would cause a downward spiral trend of failing hospitals in the areas where their care is needed. I believe that this approach would have backfiring results because the hospitals that need the most funding to make improvements will be penalized for their low performance. I think the best way to approach this dilemma would be to gather best practice methods from high performing hospitals and invest in cardiac intensive care units. Since these are the two leading causes for the poor performance, it would be the most effective in improving hospital performance and saving more people’s lives.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Kim
Link: http://www.mercurynews.com/latest-health-news/ci_19047299
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