Editorial: Court's correct stand on 'patient dumping'

Last week the Supreme Court made it easier to sue hospitals for "patient dumping," the illegal practice of sending patients elsewhere in need of expensive care. A Kentucky woman who had been run over by a truck claimed her hospital transferred her too soon to a nursing home. Previous court decisions ruled that plaintiffs had to show an "improper motive" was behind the transfers, but the Supreme Court said no such standard was required under federal law.

The growth of hospital corporations has had a corroding effect. Too many hospitals have forgotten that they are medical facilities whose mission is to care for the afflicted; too often their decisions make it seem as if they are foremost profit centers caring for their shareholders.

If the court had decided to bar the lawsuit it would have made it that much more difficult for "dumped" patients to sue. It also should send a strong message to hospitals that if they continue this shameless practice it could hurt them financially. If a sense of morality can't get their attention, maybe a multimillion dollar judgment will.

archive