ProMedica – ostensibly a non-profit committed to providing a benefit to the community – has relentlessly pursued profit for itself at the expense of the broader community. Nowhere is this more evident right now than in the bullying behavior it displays toward other area healthcare providers. By continuing to siphon doctors and services away from UTMC and moving St. Luke’s Hospital to “out of network” status with its insurance subsidiary, Paramount, ProMedica is putting barriers between patients and their doctors at the worst possible time. We are in the midst of the worst pandemic in over a century. Thousands of people are getting sick and dying from COVID-19 right here in Northwest Ohio. In fact, ProMedica has received $163 million from the taxpayers to fight the disease in 29 states, with $28 million of that amount received from the federal government to fight COVID-19 – more than any other Toledo hospital has received.
In times like this, healthcare providers need to put their own interests aside and work together to prioritize the health and safety of every citizen. Yet, ProMedica is working to do just the opposite – making healthcare less accessible and less affordable to an increasingly vulnerable population just to line their own pockets. For shame!
ProMedica’s actions suggest that it no longer sees itself as a healthcare company but as a brokerage firm that trades in healthcare assets, flipping hospitals and raiding private practices. If there are voices in ProMedica that are still committed to practicing healthcare first and business second, they must push their company to halt the transfer of physicians away from UTMC and allow Attorney General Yost to complete his investigation into the 2015 UT-ProMedica affiliation agreement. In doing so, they would be honoring the sacred maxim taught to health care practitioners all over the world for centuries – “First, do no harm.”