Some Hospitals Call 911 to Save Their Patients - New York Times

Some Hospitals Call 911 to Save Their Patients - New York Times

Here is another example of Medicaid abuse. Doctor's who set up specialized hospitals, are able to pick and choose the types of procedures they will treat. According to the New York Times these procedures are usually very expensive. This would be great if they could be considered full service hospitals. If an emergency arises as in the case with one patient, Steve Spivey, this type of hospital is not equipped to handle an emergency situation.

This recently occurred in Texas. Mr. Spivey began to experience irregular breathing and the staff called 911 because they did not have the equipment to handle such an emergency. The paramedics inserted a breathing tube, and Mr. Spivey was taken to a full service hospital where he died a short time after arriving. The Texas hospital that called 911 is now barred from treating Medicaid and Medicare patients.

The doctors who setup specialized hospitals defend themselves by saying, that because they are concentrating only on certain procedures they are providing better care for their patients. The inability to handle a medical emergency when a patient is in distress, does not sound like quality health care to me.