It never could have met national accreditation standards. Now, Remember, this was when the taxpayer revolt was in full swing. Bringing hospitals up to code would have been very expensive. Just running them as is cost a bundle. As to Dr. Dumont s charge that privatization meant stinting on important services, the state s Michael Bailitt countered that without cost controls, the state might encourage too much medical care.
Supply drives demand in health care.
The more doctors you have, the more therapists you have, the more hospitals you have, generally the more care is delivered. Now, sometimes that care is appropriate to the patient s need, but not always. All right, then, according to the state, privatization was helping more than it hurt. But at the private Deaconess Hospital, now treating state patients, the doctors thought care was being cut to the bone. Although not to be trusted with a razor, Mr. M. was to be discharged in just a few days.