DEMAND UHS TREAT ALL SICK.

Byline: DR. JOHN MANNING Antelope Valley Healthcare District Board member

PALMDALE -- The Universal Health Services Corp. hospital in Palmdale was initially lauded by city politicians as a health care panacea.

Now the tide of public opinion is shifting as more Valley residents learn that they were misled about the supposed benefits of this out-of-state, investor-owned private hospital.

Health care professionals are especially concerned about the failure of city leaders to require a Medi-Cal contract at the UHS hospital facility.

Under Palmdale's current agreement with UHS, one-third of local residents under the age of 65 would be excluded from receiving nonemergency medical services there.

All hospitals are required to treat patients in life-threatening situations regardless of their ability to pay.

For all other patients, however, investor hospitals like the UHS/Palmdale Regional Medical Center use a tactic called ``cherry picking'' -- servicing only patients with comprehensive medical insurance.

Medi-Cal and uninsured patients are simply screened and then transferred to the nearest public hospital. UHS has a documented history of this practice.

The lack of a Medi-Cal contract at UHS will have serious consequences for thousands of Antelope Valley families who are uninsured or lack adequate health insurance coverage.

The Kaiser Family Health Foundation now reports that 37 percent of our state's nonelderly population is either uninsured or covered by Medi-Cal.

Palmdale's growing minority population will be especially hard hit by the exclusionary admittance policies of UHS.

Nearly 70 percent of all pregnant women and 40 percent of African-American and Hispanic families will find the doors closed at the UHS/Palmdale Regional Medical Center, raising significant civil rights and discrimination issues.

What makes the Palmdale-UHS agreement especially egregious is the fact that the city has already spent $15 million dollars of taxpayer funds to subsidize a private corporation that refuses to serve one-third of the public.

UHS has taken our hard-earned tax dollars to subsidize their private, for-profit business. They have an obligation to provide care for all patients -- including uninsured taxpayers and underinsured working families.

As a Palmdale resident myself and an elected public health care representative for all the people of the Antelope Valley, I urge local residents to contact City Hall, protect your rights and demand that UHS accept a full service Medi-Cal contract.

The city of Palmdale has already amended its contract with UHS several times and there is no legitimate reason why Mayor Ledford and his allies at City Hall cannot insist that UHS fulfill its social responsibility to provide full health care service for all members of our community.