Managed-Care Protest

The 28 physicians and 35 nurses from the South Fork who so far have signed a statement against profit-driven health care may differ on the particulars of reform but are unified in the belief that their profession must be dedicated to "the relief of suffering, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of health."

Their protest echoes those of the ad hoc Committees to Defend Health Care that are forming around the country. Together, the movement is a reaffirmation of the Hippocratic Oath.

The South Fork statement echoes the national one. It notes what we are increasingly aware of - that the takeover of health care by "for-profit, market-oriented companies [has moved] health care from a covenant to a business contract guided by the bottom line."

Managed-care companies have forced doctors to be guided by financial incentives when considering their patients' medical care. The barometer is no longer what is best for a patient but what costs least.

While a goal of health management organizations is to bring better preventive care to more people, the news carries horror stories about patients with serious illnesses that went untreated or undiagnosed because of a managed-care policy or an unprofessional decision. The East End is no exception: Two weeks ago, The Star reported that an East Hampton family had to take Oxford Health Plans to court in order to get necessary care for an infant.

Some of the physicians involved in the protests may be motivated by the financial threat to their incomes. If they join H.M.O.s they make less money and tend to see more patients; if they do not sign up they lose patients to doctors in the plans.

The common ground, as the physicians' statement makes clear, is that the "pursuit of corporate profit and personal fortune has no place in care-giving" and "access to comprehensive, affordable, and quality health care must be the right of all."