Word: humanae
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Recently, Fineberg criticized the decision to perform the second-ever artificial heart implant, at Humana Hospital in Kentucky last month, because the procedure is still highly experimental and the hospital's resources could have been used for more established procedures such as valve replacements...
...profit health care, says that so far he has not seen much difference between the behavior of commercial and nonprofit hospitals. Says he: "Hiring big names is good business and good academics. It's one way to achieve a certain luster. DeVries and the artificial heart give Humana legitimacy in the medical world and put its name before prospective patients. Nonprofit institutions have always done this...
There is some evidence to support this charge. Investor-owned hospital chains generally follow a policy of sending indigent patients to nearby community hospitals when possible. Humana Spokesman Robert Irvine points out that people who cannot pay are not turned away from the University of Louisville facility, but defends the right of the firm's other hospitals to refer indigents to nonprofit and community institutions. Says he: "We're paying money through our taxes to support those hospitals. Those being paid to do it should be the ones to handle...
While doctors and hospital administrators debate the ethics and merits of for-profit medical care, Wall Street considers it a good investment. John Hilde-long, an analyst for Dillon, Read, calls Humana an "attractive long-term" stock...
Merrill Lynch is bullish on the whole medical field. Says one of its top stock market strategists: "The health business is bound to be good. People want good medical care, and there will always be a demand for the services that health care corporations provide." For Humana, that sounds like a prescription for continued healthy profits...