Moral Right
Moral Right
In considering the problems and principles involved in this case, it is important to state the primary stakeholders first, which include the patients, the doctors, doctors group, specialists, hospitals who have a contract with HMO, and Health Net administrators because they effect the medical care system and each others benefits and interests reciprocally.
The main conflict is between the patients and the denial of treatment to these patients by HMOs contracted doctors whereas the problem lies in the capitation system Health Net adopted. Because Health Net was founded as a “for profit” medical care organization, its mission is to pursue cost-cutting measures rather than providing the best possible medical care for its enrolled patients and taking moral responsibility to care the goodness of the society, promote health and well-being of the people in the communities. As a result, Christy deMeurers, a 32-year-old mother with breast cancer was denied life-saving bone marrow transplant by the HMOs medical directors, even though practicing physicians recommended them the transplant was listed as a covered benefit.
To deny or delay the treatment, the administrators of Health Net can benefit because the cost of medical care is minimized, so that their profit can be maximized; furthermore the hospital and its doctors who refuse to give the patient best treatment can also benefit because the less money they deduct from the fixed amount to diagnose or cure the patient, the more money they can save from the fixed amount of money as their profit. Health Net and HMO can benefit to decrease their cost thereby to increase profit.
The mission of Health Net is to provide patients medical care coverage from its contracted doctors and hospitals so that the medical care expense could be controlled and supervised by the Health Net. However, Christy deMeurers life-saving bone marrow transplant was denied by its doctors due to the monetary consideration which is against Health Nets contractual duties (page 77)—a basis for the special duties or obligations that people acquire when they accept a position or role within a legitimate social institution or an organization. The capitation system causes the conflict for the doctors whether to fulfill its contractual agreement with financial incentive plans and give the additional treatment under the condition of losing profit. Whats worse, the doctors have to be interfered by the administrator of Health Net or HMO if the doctors recommended the patient an ideal treatment plan for the interests of patients. If the doctor would prescribe the best medicine or practice more additional treatment to the patient, the doctor would under the risk of losing his or her job in such a profit-seeking organization.
HMO as a medical care organization did not take its corporate social responsibility to take consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on consumers, communities and other stakeholders, the capitation system it adopted inflicted this phenomenon that the less a physician give cure or treatment for the patients, the more profit the company