Published CommPro.biz 2014.02.04

The Bad Apples

Every year Harris Interactive surveys Americans on our level of trust in a group of nineteen industries. Over the last ten years a dismal outlook has gotten worse. Harris asks, "Which of these industries do you think are generally honest and trustworthy – so that you normally believe a statement by a company in that industry?" Not a single industry met that standard in the minds of even half of Americans, not one in the last decade. Most businesses are trustworthy, it’s the few bad apples that drag everyone down

Supermarkets did best at 30%. That means 70% of us do not trust supermarkets. The list gets worse quickly. All but one of the remaining 18 industries scores in the teens or a single digit. Oil and tobacco companies are at the bottom of the list. Oil comes in at 4%, putting their distrust level at 96%, tobacco scores 3% putting their distrust level at 97%. Fitting for a couple of industries that have fed the grim reaper millions of people around the world? Tobacco is at the bottom. We can’t imagine how anyone could have a positive outlook when it comes to tobacco. It’s more like a criminal enterprise that has killed more people than all the dictators of the 20^th century combined. Imagine, more than the big three –Mao Zedong, Jozef Stalin and Adolf Hitler– plus all the minor tyrants of the last century. 

Hospitals came in second at 28%, dropping from 36% in 2012, a result of the wide range of healthCARE entities that have become healthGreed entities. Banks come in at number four with a trust level of 18%. That means eight out of ten Americans have no trust in anything our bankers say. In 2004 the banks had a 40% trust level. That collapsed with the recession and recognition by the public that the monster banks are out of control. We would guess the 18% who trust banks are referring to their local community bank. In the same poll the number of Americans who say banks should face stronger regulation jumped 50% in the last decade. No surprise given what’s happened since the banksters lobbied away the regulations that protected us for almost a century. 

Industries sharing a low trust level and support for more regulation are topped by two that are literally killing us, tobacco and oil. The health care industries follow close behind. Driving costs out of control are Big Pharma, insurers and hospitals focused on money in this industry group that is immune to competition. Any fix is being blocked by those we elect to protect our interests. Our legislative bodies, in the states and at the national level are controlled by the lobbyists who pour money into their pockets. That leaves all of us out in the cold, spending more by far than on healthcare any nation on earth and getting third world outcomes.  

"Am I wrong?"--"Am I Nuts?"--

"What do you think?"--"Do you agree?"

Published in CommPRO.biz 2013.08.22

Greedy Hospitals

Nothing illustrates the runaway cost of medical care in America quite as starkly as the rush to build proton therapy centers. Hospitals and even private entities are racing to build these facilities that run better than $200 million bucks, $100+ million on the cheap. While it is true that for some cancers proton therapy shows real promise, the number of patients who might benefit is tiny. None are in need of this treatment at the emergency room level.

So why are hospitals across the land rushing to invest this kind of money when it doesn’t serve many patients? Well, it turns out that while there are only a few that can really benefit, there are lots of patients who can be convinced that this latest most-up-to-date medical gadget will help them. Patients that impartial studies show can be as effectively treated on existing proton radiation equipment at half the cost.

There is certainly a need for proton therapy. Studies show it is “Promising” for youngsters with rare tumors in their brain and on their spine. Its focused beam is not as likely as standard radiation to damage their tiny developing organs near the cancer. Beyond that, proton therapy has not been shown to be better than proton radiation. That has not stopped hospitals across America from rushing to sink hundreds of millions into proton therapy centers.

Nothing illustrates better why America spends more on healthcare than anybody and we still rank way down the list in almost every measurable. According to the World Health Organization we rank first in expenditures per-capita and 38^th in outcomes. The latest (2008) per-capita number comes in at $7,538.00 and rising; close to double in the eight years following 2000. Growth in healthcare costs has slowed over the last two years; some see the effects of the Affordable Care Act -others see the recession. In either case we are still spending tons of money and not getting our money’s worth.

The proton therapy issue illustrates the cause perfectly. The Washington, DC – Baltimore area has three proton therapy centers on track at a cost of well over a half billion dollars. One in Baltimore is already under construction, a football field sized dome that will house a 90-ton machine. The docs there have offered to share their proton therapy monster with the docs in the Washington area just 40 miles away. Not a chance. Why? Could it be the estimate by one of the hospitals in DC that their proton center will generate nearly $16 million dollars a year in profits by the end of this decade?

Take a look at NY City; with a vastly larger population base they will have one proton therapy center, more than enough to meet the need. There, the NY State Hospital Review and Planning Council held the region to a single unit. In the Washington area two hospitals three miles apart and 40 miles from the proton therapy center in Baltimore, are adding unneeded and unnecessary treatment equipment. Disgusting! Ethically inexcusable.