In an era where societal inequities and the shortcomings of our institutions are under a magnifying glass, the American healthcare system stands as a testament to the bizarre. We’ve built a labyrinth of laws and regulations to preserve the sanctity of health and the noble mission of hospitals, but what happens when those institutions, once sanctified as not-for-profits, operate with the pursuit of profit as diligently as any Wall Street firm? The tax-exempt status given to the majority of US hospitals was enacted by Congress in 1956, with the promise that these institutions would serve the public good. It's high time we reevaluated whether current practices align with the intended public benefit.
Before we dissect the paradox, it’s pivotal to define the intricacies behind the hospital's tax-exempt status. Hospitals, as charitable entities, can qualify for federal income tax exemption under IRC section 501(c)(3) if they fulfill criteria that they operate for the public benefit, and not for the success of private interests. It's an elegantly altruistic system—at least in theory.
The GREED of NORTHWELL HEALTH is at an ALL TIME HIGH
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2024/attorney-general-james-secures-more-1-million-northwell-health-deceptively
The Seven-Figure Question
My skepticism about hospitals being truly nonprofit is not unfounded. Take, for instance, the question my personal vendetta unraveled: the salaries of hospital CEOs. If we follow the money, does it serve the community or merely its custodians? With a quick Google search, one can uncover figures that have the eye-widening impact of a horror story. CEOs of nonprofit hospitals take home seven-figure salaries, often accompanied by lavish perks, further deepening the chasm between perception and practice.
For the community these hospitals purport to serve, the stark contrast can be both maddening and clarifying. While the public pays for these institutions through federal grants and state funding—touted as necessary to facilitate their charitable activities—the upper echelons seem to exist in a different reality of private equity and investor-pleasing strategies. In a country where the healthcare system teeters on the edge of catastrophe, it becomes an increasingly pressing question if we can continue to justify this duality.
In the given YouTube link, a documentary by More Perfect Union sheds light on the disparities created by non-profit hospitals' financial practices. The video serves as an impetus for deeper reflection, an exploration beyond surface narratives and into the nuanced fabric of healthcare institutions. It is within this complexity that my opinion piece finds its voice, challenging the precedence and presumptions surrounding these pillars of community wellbeing.
A Daughter’s Experience
The Northwell Health Hospital - the very name invokes trust - became the battleground where I fought for the care of my daughter. This experience, fraught with emotion and the stark reality, was an eye-opener. At every critical juncture, my daughter's treatment seemed not only about her recovery but also about the hospital's bottom line.
Uncovering the Trail of Bonuses
The story unfolded in the ER, where the first sign of the hospital’s commercial leanings appeared in the form of 'Covid bonuses' - a peculiar incentive indeed in the midst of a pandemic. Further down the line, I learned about the curious compensation schemes tied to prescribing certain drugs and treatments, escalating in payouts as the risk to the patient’s life increased. It was a chilling realization - healthcare wasn’t about administering the best treatments, but about padding profits through elaborate bonuses and incentives.
The Profit in Prescribing
The narrative extended far beyond the ER. It was the insidious over-prescription of drugs such as Remdesivir, opioids, and other life-threatening medications that unveiled the hospital's underlying scheme. Each treatment, each prescription, each day of hospitalization seemed not just about healing, but about how it could be monetized to the maximum benefit of the hospital.
A Daughter’s Experience
The Northwell Health Glen Cove Hospital - the very name invokes trust - became the battleground where I fought for the care of my daughter. This experience, fraught with emotion and the stark reality, was an eye-opener. At every critical juncture, my daughter's treatment was never about her recovery but only about how much profit they can make off of her death.
Uncovering the Trail of Bonuses
The story unfolded in the ER, where the first sign of the hospital’s commercial leanings appeared in the form of 'Covid bonuses' - a peculiar incentive indeed in the midst of a pandemic. Further down the line, I learned about the curious compensation schemes tied to prescribing certain drugs and treatments, escalating in payouts as the risk to the patient’s life increased. It was a chilling realization - healthcare wasn’t about administering the best treatments, but about padding profits through elaborate bonuses and incentives.
The Profit in Prescribing
The narrative extended far beyond the ER. It was the insidious over-prescription of drugs such as Remdesivir, opioids, and other end of life medications that unveiled the hospital's underlying scheme. Each treatment, each prescription, each day of hospitalization seemed not just about healing, but about how it could be monetized to the maximum benefit of the hospital.
The Ultimate Revelation
The tragic final play came with a twist that even the most alert might miss. The rise in ventilator usage, questionable from a medical standpoint, made perfect sense financially. The bonus for putting a patient on such life support spoke volumes of the hospital’s priorities - or lack thereof when it came to saving lives over making money. The stamping of death certificates with Covid-19 as the cause, irrespective of the patient's actual medical condition, was the chilling tableau that underlined the grotesque nature of healthcare as a business.
The Community Betrayed
The conclusion I was left with was not just personal disillusionment but a societal betrayal. The hospital, an institution integral to the very notion of the community, was exploiting the trust it held in the hearts of the people to run a ruthless, perversely incentivized financial engine under the guise of non-profit service.
A Case for Transparency and Accountability
Concealed under the veil of 'non-profit' status, hospitals harness this public trust, often leaving the community they claim to serve in the lurch. The call for transparency, not only in their tax-exempt financials but also in the very ethos of their operations, is a pressing one, now more than ever.
Conclusion
In dissecting the hospital conundrum, we confront the incongruity between mission and practice. This is not an attack on the essence of non-profits; rather, a call for transparency and alignment. A noble mission is not a shield for iniquity, nor should it be reflected in the opulence of a boardroom. The dichotomy of healthcare provision and profit pursuit within non-profits is a tapestry of ethical debate that needs reweaving. For the sake of community health, it is incumbent upon these institutions to harmonize their practices with their promises. Anything short of that is a betrayal, not a service.
Thank you for reading my Substack
Rebecca Charles, Danielle’s mom
https://www.givesendgo.com/JusticeforDanielle
Case filed against Northwell Health, Glen Cove Hospital and 42 defendants.
https://deathbyhospitalprotocol.com/the-complaint-filed-and-certificate-of-merit/
www.deathbyhospitalprotocol.com
I’M 77, SINGLE, & TWICE WIDOWED FROM VETS. I WAS SENT TO THE LOCAL MEMORIAL HERMANN HOSPITAL BY MY “ZOOM ONLY DR. “ TO FIND ANOTHER PERSONAL DR.
WHEN I GOT THERE I WAS DIRECTED TO A VERY SMALL TRIAGE AREA WITH TWO NURSES. THEY TRIED TO FORCE ME TO TAKE A NASAL SWAB TEST, BUT, I WELL , & TRULY REFUSED, KNOWING THAT THE TESTS CONTAIN THE SAME DEADLY INGREDIENTS AS THE JABBS.
I AM A RETIRED RESPIRATORY THERAPIST.
THE TWO NURSES FORCEABLE HELD ME DOWN AGAINST ALL MY LOUD SCREAMING, AND, STRUGGLING REFUSALS, & THEY KEPT LIEING TO MY FACE, THEN, INSERTED THE TEST STICK UP MY NOSE , & THROAT.
THE NEXT DAY I WAS VERY SICK, LETHARGIC, & WEAK, SLEEPING ALL THE TIME. AFTER A WEEK I FORCED MYSELF TO GET UP, & TAKE A BATH.
TRYING TO GET OUT OF THE TUB, MY GROINS HURT, GAVE OUT, & I FELL.
THREE DAYS LATER I WOKE UP ON THE FLOOR, COLD, WET & NAKED.
THAT AFTERNOON I WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL, & DIAGNOSED WITH COVID, ISOLATED, TIED DOWN TO THE BED WITH O2 TUBING, BROUGHT FOOD, & EVENTUALLY FORCED BY A HUGE MALE NURSE, TO GO TO THE BATHROOM & BATHE — NAKED AT THE SINK AS THERE WAS NO TUB, & APPARENTLY, NO FEMALE NURSES EITHER.
THE MALE NURSE DEMANDED, & FORCED ME TO STRIP IN FRONT OF HIM, & BATHE AT THE SINK - NAKED, AS HE STOOD IN THE OPEN BATHROOM DOORWAY LEARING , … AS THERE WAS NO BATHTUB, … HE WATCHED - STARING, BLOCKING, &
D E M A N D I N G..!!!
I KEPT STRONGLY DEMANDING A FEMALE NURSE, & HE CONTINUED TO REFUSED..!!
I FELT RAPED!!!!
AFTERWARDS, HE TOOK ME BACK, & RE-TIED ME TO THE BED.
TWO WEEKS LATER, I SURVIVED, & WAS TIED TO A WHEELCHAIR, & HAPPILY FORCED OUT OF THE HOSPITAL …!!
AS A RESPIRATORY THERAPIST I KNEW THAT I DID NOT WANT A BREATHING MACHINE .
AS A PATIENT, I KNEW THAT I WAS THOROUGHLY ABUSED!!! AS A HUMAN, I KNEW THAT I HAD CLOSELY ESCAPED •••••
!!!!!!
I was chatting with my wife this morning. I tried to research the AZ vaccine when this kicked off. There was not a single article on any of the medical publishing sites, not one. When I search now I find a number of peer reviewed articles on viral vector technology, all damning. Quite simply, they buried the research. Not only that, they prevented us using anti-virals. Why? The people driving this didn’t need the money, so what were their motives. One things for sure, when they lie to you, deceive you and coerce you, their intentions are not benevolent. The people who have done this are beyond evil, and we need to hold them to account. We need to start with their names, and use a top down approach.