September 5, 2008
Discuss Friday's commentary and letters
Carilion's goal is community service
James A. Hartley
Hartley is the chairman of the Carilion Clinic Board of Directors
In recent weeks, questions have been raised about Carilion Clinic that deserve answers. One such question is whether Carilion is a monopoly. In the Roanoke Valley, health giant HCA's Lewis-Gale Medical Center is a strong, high-quality health care provider and provides Carilion with robust competition. While there are numerous communities throughout Virginia for which there is a single, sole source hospital provider, Roanoke is not one of them.
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Wall Street Journal article worth investigating
H. C. Berding Jr.
Berding is a physician who lives in Roanoke.
It is incomprehensible that The Wall Street Journal can investigate and publish a front-page article ("Nonprofit hospitals flex pricing power," Aug. 28) about important economic and health care issues happening in Roanoke that The Roanoke Times has not, or will not, investigate.
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Read Friday's letters here.
Comments
[September 5, 2008 11:07 PM]
Bill McClureMr. Hartley:
Great spin! Lewis-Gale is part of HCA allright. The same private firm that is up to it's nose in debt. From an A plus position, the leveraged buyout to go private has produced a firm with only a B rating at best. I quote from Rueter's wire from May 21 "Although the company has reduced its debt
outstanding by almost $1 billion since its leveraged buy-out (LBO) in 2006, its financial flexibility remains constrained by significant
debt levels and negative free cash flow. In addition, HCA, along with the for-profit industry in general, is experiencing increasing competition and elevated levels of bad debt expense and uncompensated care". Mr. Hartley, do you really expect anyone to believe the competition illogic, as you bought more medical practices, and diagnostic firms the SAME week as the Wall Street Journal came out? What about the seeming monopolistic grip outside of Roanoke? Where is the competition there? You sir are the sole source in other markets. This is only one category you were totally wrong about.
[September 6, 2008 9:53 AM]
John RBill,
If you think health care is expensive now, just wait till it is free!
[September 6, 2008 11:36 AM]
DianaI don't know about other people, but my medical insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield) will not pay for me to receive medical services from Lewis Gale. My insurance will only pay if I get medical care from a Carilion facility. Therefore, for someone like me, Lewis Gale really is not any competition because I cannot afford to pay the bill 100% to get care from Lewis Gale and it would defeat the purpose of having medical insurance. I have not had a problem with the care I have received at Carilion facilities, but if I did, I would not have an option to go to Lewis Gale.