A recent op-ed from Cynthia Fisher, Founder of PatientRightsAdvocate.org, and Leslie Frane, Executive Vice President of SEIU, calls out the lack of pricing transparency and low staffing at HCA hospitals across the country.
They make the case that by increasing hospital staffing levels and posting prices in compliance with federal law, HCA can improve worker and patient safety.
“These changes are necessary to protect workers’ and patients’ health and financial security,” Fisher and Fran argue. “Nurses and patients refuse to accept this status quo that disproportionately hurts the most vulnerable Americans and exacerbates healthcare inequities,” they conclude.
Last month, nurses, healthcare workers, and patient advocates rallied at HCA headquarters, demanding improved staffing levels and working conditions at HCA hospitals.
SEIU’s Care Crisis report exposes the short-staffing crisis at HCA hospitals and its impact on workers and patients, revealing that HCA staffs its hospitals 30% below the national average, allegedly as a corporate strategy to boost profits.
A recent PatientRightsAdvocate.org report revealed zero HCA hospitals are in compliance with the federal hospital price transparency rule, preventing HCA patients from choosing care at fair prices and lowering their costs, the op-ed argues.