There are moments in a parent’s life that forever shape how they see the world.
Mine came in 2011 when my son was 11 months old and became seriously ill with a virus. He spent several nights at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan while doctors searched for answers.
Like every parent, I was grateful he was receiving care. The physicians and nurses treated him with professionalism and compassion. This is not an indictment of the dedicated men and women who devote their lives to healing others.
It is, however, a question about the healthcare system in which they work. As the days passed, he underwent one test after another. Many seemed unrelated to the symptoms that had brought him to the hospital. Eventually, after three to four days, I asked the attending physician a straightforward question.
Why are we still here?
He looked at me, shocked at my pointed question. His answer was vague. He said they wanted to make sure everything was okay.
There had been no clear diagnosis explaining why my son needed to remain hospitalized. As both a father and a journalist, something about that explanation troubled me. He didn’t spend one more night at the hospital after the unclear response from the doctor.
Then the bill arrived in the mail. Hospital charges totaled nearly $40,000, almost all of which was covered by our insurance. I remember thinking that had he remained hospitalized another day or two, there likely would have been additional tests, additional procedures and additional charges.
Years later, former President Barack Obama spoke candidly about the problem of overdiagnosis and over-treatment that unnecessarily increase healthcare costs. I immediately thought back to those anxious nights at Children’s Hospital of Michigan.
That little boy is now a healthy 17-year-old. The experience did not leave me distrustful of hospitals. It left me convinced that even our most respected institutions need transparency and accountability.
That is why a package of billsrecently introduced in the Michigan Legislature to establish a Hospital Cost Review Board, increase oversight of hospital consolidation, strengthen protections against medical debt and create a healthcare cost reduction fund for struggling rural hospitals should not be dismissed.
These reforms are long overdue. My concern about affordability is not new.
In January 2012, then-Henry Ford Health System President and CEO Nancy Schlichting invited me to serve as the keynote speaker for the health system’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. During that address, I challenged healthcare leaders to think not only about medical excellence but also about affordability, accessibility and human dignity.
Nearly 15 years later, that challenge remains just as urgent. Michigan is home to outstanding hospitals, remarkable physicians and groundbreaking medical innovation. We should celebrate that excellence. But excellence without affordability leaves too many families wondering whether getting well will mean going broke.
Healthcare should never force families to choose between paying a hospital bill, making a mortgage payment or sending a child to college. That is not simply an economic issue. It is a moral one.
The proposed Hospital Cost Review Board should not be viewed as an attack on hospitals. It is an affirmation that institutions entrusted with public confidence should welcome transparency.
Patients often have no meaningful ability to compare prices or question recommendations while facing a medical crisis. They deserve confidence that treatment decisions are based solely on medical necessity, not financial incentives embedded within the system.
The legislation also strengthens financial assistance programs and expands protections against aggressive medical debt collection. That reflects a simple truth that compassion should not end when a patient leaves the hospital. It should extend to the bill that arrives in the mailbox.
Equally important is the creation of a healthcare cost reduction fund to help sustain rural hospitals. Every Michigan resident deserves access to quality healthcare regardless of where they live. Rural hospitals are often the economic and social backbone of their communities. Supporting them strengthens both public health and local economies.
Critics will argue that these bills represent unnecessary government intervention. That debate is worth having. Hospitals face real financial pressures, including workforce shortages, inflation and rapidly rising costs.
But those challenges cannot excuse a lack of transparency. Nor should they justify a system that leaves families fearful not only of illness but also of financial ruin.
X (formerly Twitter): @BankoleDetNews
bankole@bankolethompson.com
Bankole Thompson’s columns appear on Mondays and Thursdays in The Detroit News.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan’s hospitals need more transparency — and families need relief | Thompson
Reporting by Bankole Thompson / The Detroit News
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By Bankole Thompson | USA TODAY Network
