Drop off at the Brigham?
Massachusetts state Sen. Mark Montigny, who has spent a lot of time on healthcare issues in his 23 years in the Senate, has filed a bill to fine hospitals for giving special status and benefits to rich patients and for failing to report such violations to regulators.
The Boston Globe said special treatment for a prince got his ire.
Some hospitals, especially famous teaching hospitals in world-renown medical centers such as Boston, have long draw celebrity patients whose wealth and power have gotten them special attention.
Mr. Montigny proposed the amendment after The Globe published a story about a Middle Eastern royal who stayed on the VIP floor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston, for seven months in 2014.
The Globe reported that state Department of Public Health cited the hospital for violations involving the prince’s care, “including not wearing protective gowns as required when a patient is diagnosed with a drug-resistant infection. The patient found the protective gear off-putting.”
“His personal aides were permitted to give him routine medications, and the prince gave thousands of dollars in gratuities to staff — both are forbidden by hospital policy. Nurses said they turned the envelopes over to managers.”
