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Fox's John Stossel Announces He Has Lung Cancer — and Uses Devastating Diagnosis to Censure Customer Service at 'Largely Socialist' Hospital
John Stossel, left, tapes his debut show "Stossel" on the Fox Business Network in New York, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. The weekly program is scheduled to begin Thursday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Fox's John Stossel Announces He Has Lung Cancer — and Uses Devastating Diagnosis to Censure Customer Service at 'Largely Socialist' Hospital

"Try running a business with rules like that."

Fox Business Network host John Stossel announced Wednesday that he has lung cancer — but the diagnosis wasn't even what seemed to concern him most.

In a FoxNews.com opinion piece, Stossel wrote that his doctors caught the disease early enough that he is expected to make a full recovery.

In this Dec. 8, 2009 file photo, John Stossel, tapes his debut show "Stossel" on the Fox Business Network in New York. Stossel says growing his now-signature moustache was a turning point. As someone who always looked younger than his years, it was the moustache, maligned as it may be depending on fashion trends, that got him some respect, he says.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) John Stossel tapes his show "Stossel" on the Fox Business Network in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

“Soon I will barely notice that a fifth of my lung is gone," Stossel wrote while he was still at the hospital. "I believe them. After all, I’m at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. U.S. News & World Report ranked it No. 1 in New York. I get excellent medical care here."

But the libertarian host of "Stossel" went on to point out that while the medical care he receives is satisfactory, the customer service he gets at the hospital leaves something to be desired.

"Doctors keep me waiting for hours, and no one bothers to call or email to say, 'I'm running late.' Few doctors give out their email address. Patients can't communicate using modern technology," Stossel said.

He went on to say that medical staff perform X-rays, EKG tests, echocardiograms and blood tests on him, all of which he questions the necessity for. Stossel says the reason no one ever mentions the need or cost for such tests is because patients rarely pay out of pocket. The government or insurance companies often pay, instead.

"Customer service is sclerotic because hospitals are largely socialist bureaucracies," Stossel added.

"Instead of answering to consumers, which forces businesses to be nimble, hospitals report to government, lawyers and insurance companies. Whenever there's a mistake, politicians impose new rules: the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act paperwork, patient rights regulations, new layers of bureaucracy," he added.

"Try running a business with rules like that," Stossel said.

(H/T: Mediaite)

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