“The Covid Storm: Yearslong Drive for Efficiency Left Hospitals Overwhelmed” (Page One, Sept. 18) should be mandatory reading for every member of Congress. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 balanced the federal budget by manipulating the Medicare growth curve to be below real inflation. As the number of Medicare and Medicaid patients has grown, cost pressures forced hospitals to increase revenues, decrease supplies and lower nursing/patient ratios. Cars have seat belts and air bags not because we are planning to be in accidents, but just in case. Not so with hospital costs.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 27, 2020 18:11 UTC