Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-05-30
Hospital Rates

N0IeS
The editorial in The Eve
ming Star for May %. regard
ing the inadequate payments
by the District to the eight
private hospitals for the care
Of the INDECENT gives me an
opportunity to express pub
licly my amazement at the cost
Of such care. Your statement
that 1.-THE hospitals are now
being paid only $l4 a day for
disqualification that costs SGT
a day and more" leads me to
feel that there Is something
about this situation that is
entirely unreal. A Govern
ment employe on travel orders
Is allowed $12 a day for hotel
and food and that amount is
almost adequate for flrst-class
accommodations and other ex-
penses. Any hotel that can
keep every room filled and feed
all its guests Gas in hoSpitaD
for $l4 a day is a very success
full venture. But 1t costs a
hospital $27 a day even with
several patients to a room.
It must be remembered that
the hotel is a capitalistic VEN
ture requiring the investment
Of capital on which dividends
must be paid out Of moneys
earned. taxes must be paid on
earnings. not to mention the
keen competition between
hotels for guests.
On the other hand, a hos
pital is not a capitalistic VEN
ture. The citizens pay the
cost Of constructing and equip
ping the hospital. For that
reason the hospital does not
have to earn money to pay div
idends or city. State and Fed
eral taxes and the hospital has
none Of the usual operating
expense of the hotel such as
many highly paid executives.
advertising. etc. On top Of
these great differences between
hospitals and hotels the hos
pital gives less return for your
money than a hotel.
What is wrong with this
picture? Clark c. Minter.
Editors note: William
Butcher, executive director,
Washington Hospital Council.
says one hospital patient re-
quires the attention Of two
and q half specialized en-
ployes around the clock. Their
technical skills command bet
ter wages than most hotel en-
ployes. X-rays, drugs. labora-
tory examinations and the use
Of special facilities and expen-
sive equipment are other inn
portant cost factors. Also in
digent patients usually are
worse OF in a general physical
way than patients who can
afford proper medical care and
attention before being hos
pitalized. Thus the INDECENT
normally requires and gets
more clinical service and
diagnostic examinations. Mr..
Butcher believes 1t would cost
a hotel twice $27 a day to
provide the same services a
hospital patient receivesJ
\ -
The explanation offered by
the District Commissioners
concerning the inequity Of
reimbursement to local private
hospitals for INDECENT care,
is indeed q naive one.
The fact that. the private
hospitals receive money for
capital costs or operating ex-
penses. and that allegedly 30
to 40 per cent Of facilities are
used for non-residents, does
not take into consideration
one major feature Of their
operation: The INDECENT pa
tents cared for in the clinics
Of these contract hospitals
could not receive adequate
medical care II only the Dis
trict's facilities were available
to them. Even with these
private hospital clinics oper-
ating, tlI, out-patient DEPART
ment az d. c. General is
greatly overcrowded and grossly
underfinanced. Moreover, the
impatient services at d. c.
General are likewise often
overcrowded and continually
understahed. The in-patients
cared for by the contract
hospitals. chiefly as emer-
gency admissions, certainly
lesser the load on the city
hospital.
Aside from the fact that
these patients enhance the
value Of teaching programs
In the private hospitals, 1t Is
difficult to comprehend the
many benefits" accruing 70
these hospitals. on the con-
trary, the lack Of organization
and coordination existing IN
the procedures for indigH I