**Private investors in Nursing Homes fail their patients

The hairs on the back of my neck kind of standup when I start hearing the glories and efficiency and cost reductions possible by converting government functions and similar operations into profit-making ventures.

Such pre-transfer propaganda turns out to be inapplicable libertarian cant or outright lies once the transfer is irreversible. Something in the same neighborhood is happening when Nursing homes for the elderly and infirm, are purchased by private investors. I heard a report on NPR this morning. The Mudville Times blog has already done a good report on it. An excerpt below, but take a look at the site and read the whole Mudville story.

Mr. Whitman appears to be saying that the free market can't provide even inferior care for Grandma and Grandpa without complicated legal structures to hide its failings from legal scrutiny. I think Adam Smith said something about that: if the free market can't do the job, society has a right and duty to do the job through its government.

Today's New York Times article gives a good example from one specific subset of the health care industry of why blind adherence to free-market theology in health care without at least strict regulation, if not full funding and control, by the government leads to immoral treatment of our fellow citizens at the hands of profiteers.

Madvilletimes.blogspot.com/

http://tinyurl.com/38p2k4

HOTLINK for the above story from Madville Times Blog

**Stay tuned, but right now I have got to get my butt off the computer chair...don't want any sores---Doug Wiken