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Show OPINIONS Medicalde; Blue Cross, etc. (5) Limitation of reimbursement reimburse-ment and review of hospitals hospi-tals limits the ability to pay competitive wages. The need for attracting and retaining re-taining competent people Is of utmost importance. I sincerely urge you to oppose the Nixon Administration Admin-istration Proposal and that you do so in the interest of the quality and availability availa-bility of health care which is required by our community. Sincerely yours, John Maxey Administrator We are writing to express our appreciation for the blood drawing conducted in Milford, Monday, February 4, 1974. We appreciate the number who participated and those who responded to lie donors. Please on our behalf express our thanks to them for their participation. We are pleased pleas-ed to serve you. Sincerely, Orrin B. Beckstrand Administrator Red Cross Blood Center Editor's note: The following follow-ing Is a letter written by John Maxey for the Milford Valley Hospital to all legls-ators legls-ators from Utah protesting controls on the Health Services, Ser-vices, advocated by the administration. ad-ministration. The Nixon Administration has submitted to CongTess two bills which would leave him in control of the economy econo-my sector relating to the health field In the event congress con-gress lets the Economic Stabilization Act expire on April 30th. Senate bill 3032 would expand economic control con-trol of the health care industry in-dustry and Senate Bill 2961 would give the President standby power to regulate the economy sector by sector. sec-tor. The Amercan Hospital Association is urging hospitals hospi-tals to contact their Congressmen Con-gressmen to voice opposition to the two measures and to the extension of the Economic Econom-ic Stabilization Act. Dear Sir: The Cost of Living Council Coun-cil has prepared and issued regulations that will have serious financial and service ser-vice problems for the Health Providers of this Nation and the Nixon Administration Administra-tion has now presented, to the Congress, proposed legislation leg-islation which will continue economic controls for Health Providers beyond April 30th, 1974, when the controls for all other segments of the economy are due to expire. Hospitals, in 1973, had an increase of only 3.9 In service charges and had the lowest increase of all the five services used In computing com-puting the consumer price index. It seems very strange and highly inequitable that the Government would continue con-tinue to place controls on health when we have done such a good job under Phase n and Phase m of holding hold-ing our patient cost down. If the cost of goods and services , which the hospital hospi-tal must purchase, are permitted per-mitted to increase at the same rate that has taken place over the past six months, it will be virtually impossible for our hospitals to continue the same level and quality of service as it has in the past. Our wages will come to fall behind those who work in other industries indus-tries which will economy should be treated generate rightful discontent and will result in loss of competent individuals for health care. Our particular circumstances circum-stances are as follow: (1) Government Economic considerations con-siderations should not interfere in-terfere with my Physician's ability to prescribe the care I need, nor limit the availability availa-bility of health facilities. (2) Discriminatory treatment treat-ment of hospitals is unfair. un-fair. All sectors of the economy should be treated equitable. It is impossible for a single sector of the economy to comply with the fixed percentage of change when all other secotrs are Increasing at a higher percentage. per-centage. (3) Hospitals have achieved the objectives of the economic stabilization program under previous phases. Increases in hospital hos-pital costs and prices have been well controlled. (4) There are numerous controls con-trols In hospitals other than the economic control program. pro-gram. In the absence of the economic control, there Is substantial continuing controls such as Medicare |