As the nation agonizes over health care reform, the letters from Senator Frank Moss and Val Halamandaris to Knopf intended to kill Tender Loving Greed with lies, misrepresentations, and personal attacks, speaks volumes about the arrogance and power of Congress. They did not kill the book only because the CEO of Random House, a friend of Mary Adelaide Mendelson's brother, had taken an interest in the book and was personally offended by the Moss-Halamandaris attacks.
The letters are discussed in the new edition. However, read them here http://oneoffpressbooks.com/moss-halamandaris.pdf.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
35 Years Later
I have been asked, what does a 35 year old exposé mean today? Other than the story about Dr. Bergman and his nursing home empire, most of the characters in Tender Loving Greed weren't the stuff of national news, and some of the incidents reported were old. Of course being out-of-date was often cited against the book. The relevance then, as now, lies in the patterns of deceit, fraud, and poor care, and the efforts of government to regulate, prevent fraud, and improve care.
In 1974, comments about HMOs feel on deaf ears; although now we are considering ACOs. Fraud had been little talked about then; since then it has been officially called “management inefficiencies” by HHS; and buried in lists of “health care cost drivers” between excessive paper work and poor communications. Ownership was a mystery, and despite three decades of efforts it remains a mystery. It is in these areas, and others, that Tender Loving Greed was remarkably prescient and remain relevant.
The New York Times wrote that “Private equity firms have been rapidly buying up nursing homes in the last few years, sometimes using complex ownership structures to shield them from lawsuits. Now they have attracted attention in Washington” NYT, 10.18.07, http://tinyurl.com/yeard6j . The first comment on the NYT web site was, “Unfortunatley the greed that is being illicited by Private Equity firms that own nursing homes is nothing new. The book “Tender Loving Greed” addressed this problem in the 1970’s. The only problem, 30 years later, is the lack of accountablity of caring for the most valued resource in America is not sufficient,” Margo Tucker.
In 1974, comments about HMOs feel on deaf ears; although now we are considering ACOs. Fraud had been little talked about then; since then it has been officially called “management inefficiencies” by HHS; and buried in lists of “health care cost drivers” between excessive paper work and poor communications. Ownership was a mystery, and despite three decades of efforts it remains a mystery. It is in these areas, and others, that Tender Loving Greed was remarkably prescient and remain relevant.
The New York Times wrote that “Private equity firms have been rapidly buying up nursing homes in the last few years, sometimes using complex ownership structures to shield them from lawsuits. Now they have attracted attention in Washington” NYT, 10.18.07, http://tinyurl.com/yeard6j . The first comment on the NYT web site was, “Unfortunatley the greed that is being illicited by Private Equity firms that own nursing homes is nothing new. The book “Tender Loving Greed” addressed this problem in the 1970’s. The only problem, 30 years later, is the lack of accountablity of caring for the most valued resource in America is not sufficient,” Margo Tucker.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
New Release
In 1974, Senator Frank Moss, with help from counsel Val Halamandaris, tried to kill the publication of Tender Loving Greed, by Mary Adelaide Mendelson--
. . . the book should not be published . . . garbage . . . BS . . . crap . . . dishonest . . . the worst writing on nursing homes I have have ever read . . .
--but TLG was published and it received the George C. Polk award. That the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Long-Term Care would try to kill a book may tell volumes about the health care debate today.
What Mary Adelaide showed was the problem of ownership-mortgage tricks organized crime, and a government that was co-opted, corrupted, or incompetent. She showed that the crooks were moving into other areas of health care.
Did these things disappear one night in 1998?
Today, amidst the health care debate, people cry out "Why is health care so expensive?" Politicians shrug. But health care is a $3 trillion industry, with fraud estimated at 14% to 25%--$450 to $750 billion--what is the answer?
Tender Loving Greed is a relevant today as ever. It won't give specific answers, but it will open your eyes to a systemic problem few talk about. Arguably there are those in Congress who know, but then why the silence?
The 1974 edition of Tender Loving Greed, 5.5 x 8.25 inches, 279 pages, with Tender Loving Greed 2009 Notes, 53 pages, for the same price as the original, $6.96. 7.5MB PDF download.
. . . the book should not be published . . . garbage . . . BS . . . crap . . . dishonest . . . the worst writing on nursing homes I have have ever read . . .
--but TLG was published and it received the George C. Polk award. That the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Long-Term Care would try to kill a book may tell volumes about the health care debate today.
What Mary Adelaide showed was the problem of ownership-mortgage tricks organized crime, and a government that was co-opted, corrupted, or incompetent. She showed that the crooks were moving into other areas of health care.
Did these things disappear one night in 1998?
Today, amidst the health care debate, people cry out "Why is health care so expensive?" Politicians shrug. But health care is a $3 trillion industry, with fraud estimated at 14% to 25%--$450 to $750 billion--what is the answer?
Tender Loving Greed is a relevant today as ever. It won't give specific answers, but it will open your eyes to a systemic problem few talk about. Arguably there are those in Congress who know, but then why the silence?
The 1974 edition of Tender Loving Greed, 5.5 x 8.25 inches, 279 pages, with Tender Loving Greed 2009 Notes, 53 pages, for the same price as the original, $6.96. 7.5MB PDF download.
Read a sample chapter
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
