Equipment burned, nurses fired... hospital administrators got new cars

By GottaLaff

An L.A. Times letter to the editor:

Re “Conserva-care,” Opinion, Sept. 20

What nonsense. William Frist wants to "incentivize" folks to live a healthy life, thereby shrinking costs. OK -- but try getting couch potatoes to do it. And those like me -- living the healthiest of lives, yet I've fought back cancer twice only because Medicare authorized the right tests.

David Frum wants non-state-regulated insurance companies that will "squeeze" their suppliers. If doctors like my son are squeezed any further, most will quit medicine.

And Richard Viguerie: "Don't discourage profit ... [it] drives better prices, service and products." Ridiculous. When our local, nonprofit hospital became for-profit, all the best nurses were fired. Their incompetent replacements burned up equipment in the autoclaves. However, within weeks, a dozen administrators had new cars.

Brought to you by the Department of Driving while Rome Burns.