The “Commission” was formed back in the 1990s during the Dinkins administration by activists working in healthcare who felt that the government was not doing enough to provide healthcare for the poor; they wanted to develop a public voice.
Feliciano felt that Mount Sinai should do more than hold an “Information Session” in which they offer a PowerPoint presentation attempting to sell the scaled-down medical services they will provide with the $500 million they will get for the condo sale of Beth Israel.
He recalls that almost all hospital consolidations, mergers, or closings have taken place with inadequate public input.
Feliciano also offers, “The State oversight laws, called the Certificate of Need (CON), [are] weak. [The CON] does not require post approval of any transactions attached to approval of a hospital transaction.” And, finally, he argues that the enforcement by the State is minimal to none.
The former head of physicians at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Dr. David Kaufman, argues that, with the closing of more and more hospitals, the operating table is becoming increasingly distant. Yet, there is nobody recording how many more patients are dying in traffic, on their way to a full-service hospital.
(WestView has invited Anthony Feliciano to expand on the inadequacy of the medical oversight.)
