Do You Have a Beaumont Doctor?

In Oakland County, where I live, the dominant Hospital is William Beaumont, with their main facility being in Royal Oak. Far from being "warm and fuzzy" they are the veritable "900 pound gorilla." They just added to their empire by buying Bon Secours Hospital in Grosse Pointe. According to news accounts, "Bon Secours wanted a buyer that would continue the mission of the hospital founded by the Sisters of Bon Secours, who began providing care in the community in 1909."

Judging by Beaumont Hospital radio commercials, this will hardly be the case. Their standard commercial, "Do You Have a Beaumont Doctor?" features heart thumping music, and the story line is something to the effect that if you don't have a Beaumont Doctor in this or that field, and something bad happens to you, you will die immediately, if not sooner.(And I used to think that the Blue Cross Card commercial "Don't get sick without it." was the leader in bad taste!)

Well I have at least six Beaumont Doctors (My Primary Care Physician, Cardiologist, Psychiatrist, Otolaryngologist, Rheumatologist and motion-specialist Neurologist), so every time I hear this commercial I start to have a panic attack! Other hospitals have commercials guaranteeing that someone will see you in their emergency room within 30 minutes of your arrival. What is this? An oil change? Speaking of Emergency Rooms. they are clogged with people who don't need to be there, but who have no health insurance. Assuring that everyone had some basic level of health coverage would be a cost-effective way to deal with this. In other words, it would save taxpayers money, whatever its other virtues or drawbacks.