the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
May 20, 2024
A 76-year-old man died after Beth Israel hospital in New York City refused him service and he was transported to another hospital and then another, where he collapsed. His wife is suing.
Beth Israel used to be a full-service hospital, whose parent company Mount Sinai is currently trying to close it and laying off employees. In addition, more than a dozen New York hospitals have closed in recent years, following a national trend, not only in big cities, but especially in rural areas. At a neighboring hospital to Beth Israel in New York, the emergency room has seen a ridiculous 32% increase.
The Mount Sinai system, which calls itself non-profit, is a huge system, with a medical school and 7,000 providers in the New York area. It says the problem is Medicaid, which pays much lower reimbursement than private insurance.
Yes, in the richest country in the world, health care is run like a business. So, whether or not you die depends on having private insurance.