Dear Editor:

The California based Prime Healthcare Foundation is in talks to purchase Central Maine Medical Center, Bridgton Hospital, Rumford Hospital, and the Topsham Care Center. Although the foundation is a non-profit, it works hand in glove with Prime Healthcare Services, a private for profit company. The foundation’s president and chair is also Chief Medical Officer of Strategy for Prime Healthcare Services. What is of concern here is that Prime Healthcare Services has a troubling history that is available to view on its Wikipedia page.

It is argued that the foundation will infuse millions of dollars into these hospitals which would be great, of course, but why does the foundation have to “own” the hospital in order to do so? That is, why not just help these healthcare organizations with a straight donation? The fact is that for-profit hospitals prioritize profit over patient care and with this hand in glove relationship, it leaves one to wonder how much control Prime Healthcare Services will influence its foundation arm in its pursuit of profit.

But the problem with these Prime Healthcare transactions is the same problem that is plaguing our non-profit healthcare system. At the nub of it is that these so-called non-profits have strayed far from their charitable roots to become fronts for extracting profits from the communities they serve.

For the typical non-profit entity, having board members receive compensation might present a conflict of interest. Looking at the recent filings of our own Maine Health Services, one finds that the CEO receives annual compensation to the tune of $1.8 million and the rest of the suite of officers and key employees are similarly lavishly compensated.

The conflict of interest comes in the form of the question of how to sustain these obscene levels of compensation. While so many people are struggling under the heavy burden of the American healthcare system, this is an insult. A better solution is not to rely on the for-profit sector but instead reform the excessive executive pay by these institutions and for the state to step in and help with the budget shortfalls.

Fred W. Nehring

Boothbay