Evening star., 1948-12-14
Plea for the HOSPITALS

To the Editor Of The Star:
In pleading for a common sense definition
of medical indigency, The Star has focused
community conscience upon the critical plight
Of our hospitals. Unless our intelligent self
interest rescues them from paraly1ng bank
ruptcy, We place the health of the community
In grave jeopardy
i For the moment let us look at the problem
from the hospitals desperate point of view:
The conscience and self-interest of the COM
munity created hospitals to meet the basic
health needs of every one. They are nonproht.
When human needac0mes knocking at tl1efr
merciful doors, they cannot say: Pay as you
enter!" They admit patients on one basis only,
their need for help which only hospitals can
give. .srS.s~sl>ss4 .5
Once they accept the trust of patients their
only objective is to get them well as quickly
as possible. To this end they have only one
standard Of treatment That Is the best
medical science and human conscience pre-
scribes. So far as treatment is concerned, the
INDECENT and the rich receive the same The
cleverest doctor on earth, viewing an operation
or delivery or a frantic effort to save one
severely injured, could not tell If the patient
was an INDECENT or a millionaire. Hospitals
only have one kind Of service, and that is the
best.
If hospitals could survive by merit and their
good works. they would have no problems But
hospitals are q big essential business The
fact that they exist merely to do good without
profit does not eliminate payrolls, maintenance
costs and an overhead for efncient admins
tration. These basic costs have increased so
rapidly without compensating revenues that
even paying patients fail to meet the full fair
costs of the high quality services hospitals must
provide. Medical Economics magazine dag
noses the paralydng financial disease of all
hospitals In these words: Average patient-day
cost of United States general hospitals in fs47
was $11.09, billing $9.71, deficit $138"
Just think of it! Hospitals throughout our
Nation are deicit-spending $13S patient
day even for the average hospitalized case
that pays its bills
But our local problem involves the greater
evil, the total loss Of all fair costs for humane
services rendered the so-called INDECENT Be-
heving that community conscience would not
let them down our hospitals placed mercy and
social justice before sound business principles.
Had they operated strictly as businesses, they
would have failed as dutiful servants of COM
munity conscience. But they have accepted
bankruptcy with honor rather than sovency
with inhumanity.
This community is unique among all outside
the Iron Curtain. We have absolutely no
democratic method of correcting evils resulting
from bad government or inept administration.
We are the politically impotent wards of the
Federal Government. Yet without fail, we are
held up to the contempt of the Nation for
community faults and weaknesses for which
we are not morally responsible
believe our President is sincere in his cou-
rageous championship of social justice and
human welfare. Here Is q case involving re-
pudiation Of every Humanitarian principle he
consistently has advocated. Our hospitals did
their humane duty by the needy who lacked
the price. They could have refused to serve
the needy until the price was In hand. But
with reason they thought community con-
science and intelligent self-interest would not
let them down.
In this case President Truman Is the Gus
todian Of the only remedy available. His ad-
ministrators are the servants of policy. They
should not be allowed to make It, Policy Is
made by Congress The Chief Executive in
hits voteless community interprets policy. We
the unfranchised, plead with our President to
interpret that policy 30 that our hospitals will
be paid their humane debt Of community
honor THOMAS e. MATTINGLY, MD.
Impeachment Proceedings Suggested
To the Editor Of The Star:
May suggest that no congressional COM
mittee is dead until the terms for which its
members have been elected have expired; that
this Communist business is no red herring"
to me, as q citizen Of these United States;
that the people who constitute an administra-
ton are not the Goyernment-they are the