Senate Health Bill: Nonprofit Community Hospitals Now PTEF's

The Senate health reform bill provides new nomenclature for nonprofit community hospitals. They're now "private tax exempt facilities." This cold, bristly language comes straight from the for-profit hospital lobby, the Federation of American Hospitals (FAH). They've used such terms for over a decade. It finally made a Congressional bill.

The last time a FAH chief impacted health reform, it was Tom Scully and Medicare Part D. Incidentally Tom Scully works alongside Tom Daschle at Alston & Bird.

This round of reform is steered by For-Profiteer Nancy Ann DeParle, now White House Health Czar. In an interview with Ezra Klein, DeParle referred to big pharma as “our industry.” It went over Klein’s head.

Corporatism is alive and well in America’s Government Industrial Monstrosity. It was formerly known as Eisenhower’s MIC. Decades of steroids ballooned it beyond the military. It now encompasses health care, infrastructure and education.

It’s a sad day when "nonprofit community hospitals" purposefully get a bad name. Is there an ulterior motivation? Citizens might not be upset if it closes or sells out to a proprietary chain. White House Health Czar Nancy-Ann DeParle has experience doing that very thing. President Obama talks a good game, but his implementation leaves much to be desired.