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Senator Rick Scott: ‘Communist China Cannot Be Trusted’

The Florida Republican takes strong issue with an Op-Ed article by a Chinese official about Beijing’s response to the coronavirus. Also: The role of hospitals in their communities.

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Community workers and volunteers in Wuhan, China, packing groceries purchased through group orders after supermarkets stopped sales to individuals in the midst of the epidemic.Credit...China Daily/Reuters

To the Editor:

Re “To Protect Global Health, Work With China,” by Xie Feng, China’s foreign affairs commissioner in Hong Kong (Op-Ed, nytimes.com, Feb. 28):

Communist China cannot be trusted, and has not been honest about the coronavirus.

Mr. Xie claims that China responded to the coronavirus outbreak in record time. Yet he conveniently doesn’t mention that when the virus first began to spread, the Chinese government did what it does best: silence critics and detain people accused of spreading rumors. It was his Communist Party that reprimanded and threatened a doctor in Wuhan for warning others about the initial outbreak; the same doctor later died from the disease.

Mr. Xie also claims that the Chinese government has kept the public informed and has been responsive to questions and concerns from citizens. Why, then, did the government wait more than a month into the outbreak to give critical information about infections among medical workers to the World Health Organization?

And why has the government censored articles and posts from families of infected people seeking help? Why did it expel three American journalists documenting and writing about the coronavirus?

But perhaps Mr. Xie’s most egregious decision was to lecture other countries about listening to international groups and abiding by human rights agreements, all while his government denies basic liberties in Hong Kong and holds Uighurs in concentration camps.

No amount of propaganda can distract from the truth: China is willing to sacrifice the health of its citizens if it means that it can maintain its global image.

Rick Scott
Washington
The writer, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from Florida.

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 Credit...Dalbert Vilarino

To the Editor:

Re “Nonprofit Hospitals Are Too Profitable,” by Danielle Ofri (Sunday Review, Feb. 23):

Hospitals and health systems have a clear record of community benefit, and we have the numbers to prove it. In 2019, nonprofit hospitals provided $95 billion in value in community benefit programs, according to an analysis by Ernst & Young. This eclipses the $9 billion value of these institutions’ tax exemption by a factor of nearly 11 to 1.

Further, variation in the types and scale of community benefit programs is not weakness, but a strength. Rather than take a one-size-fits-all approach, hospitals and health systems are tailoring their programs and initiatives to meet pressing community needs. In some areas, that means fighting food insecurity through fresh grocery options or supporting safe housing.

In others, it means finding new and innovative ways to deliver care outside the walls of a hospital facility, whether in the home, through mobile clinics or other resources. All of these provide tangible benefits that support the health of the community.

In regard to mergers, these relationships actually help keep hospitals open to serve as an anchor for the community. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 40 to 50 percent of hospitals could have negative margins by 2025. That means they may need a partner to survive. The risk is especially acute in rural and underserved areas.

Moreover, a recent study from economists at Charles River Associates found statistically significant improvements in the rates of readmissions and mortality associated with mergers. The study also found that revenues did not increase as a result of mergers.

By any measure, hospitals and health systems invest more in the community and patient needs than any other part of the health sector. To suggest otherwise is misleading.

Rick Pollack
Washington
The writer is president and chief executive of the American Hospital Association.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 26 of the New York edition with the headline: Senator Rick Scott: ‘China Cannot Be Trusted’. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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