Would A Private Elmhurst Hospital Treat Jenny?

Would Jenny Amaya, the 12-year-old Colombian earthquake victim, been given free care at a privatized Elmhurst General Hospital?
"That’s a hypothetical question," said Dr. Luis Marcos, president of the Health & Hospitals Corp., at a news conference last week at the Queens hospital. "But since she’s a Medicaid recipient, she’d qualify for care."
The chief of the City’s municipal hospitals was on hand last week at Elmhurst General Hospital to participate in a news conference called to discuss the treatment needs of the youngster.
The New York State Court of Appeals is expected to hand down a decision later this month on whether Mayor Rudy Giuliani will be allowed to sell off municipal hospitals to private interests.
Despite Marcos’ comment, two Congressional representatives took issue with him.
"I don’t agree with Dr. Marcos. I’m very concerned that privatization will severely impact patients like Jenny Amaya," said Congressman Joseph Crowley, who had accompanied the Amaya sisters and Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez on the plane back to Colombia last week.
Velasquez also expressed concern about patient access to private care if the Court allowed the Mayor to privatize municipal hospitals.
"I have long opposed privatization," she said. "The record is clear where I stand."
Last month an estimated 200 spectators—mostly Queens and Brooklyn hospital workers—demonstrated outside the New York State Court of Appeals hearing on hospital privatization. It was reportedly the largest turnout of spectators in the history of the Albany court.
They expressed fears that if the Court overturns the lower court decision barring Mayor Rudy Giuliani from privatizing hospitals that health care for indigent patients would suffer.