Lawrence County has seven county run hospitals. Because three privatel

IMO D

The hospital with the highest fatality rate ranks #1 in fatality rate not because it provides bad quality attention but because the most severely injured patients go there. And they go there probably becuase this hospital has a high concentration of trained specialists on staff.

Closing that particular hospital would lead to negative health consequences for the citizens of the county, a situation that is exactly opposed to what the county wants.

to weaken the conclusion, we need to find a reason why the hospital with the highest fatality rate is an important one in the county.
only D addresses this.

A - compares fatality rate from private with county ones. so out.
B - this one actually strengthens the conclusion.
C - speaks about preferences of people. out.
D - right!!! if this hospital is one at which all the most serious diseases are treated, of course it will have the highest fatality rate.
E - compares with other states/counties. irrelevant.

Hi mikemcgarry,
I would put this Q to you, since the Q is shown to be from Magoosh...
I'll just speak of the OA, which is D..

Crux of para
since three privately owned hospitals have come up, the county executives intend to close down one of the seven county run hospitals to save money , an action that should have least/fewest negative health consequences for citizens of the county,..

Recommendations
recommendation is to close down the one with the highest fatality rate...

what does the Q asks us?
Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the consulting firm's recommendation for the choosing the hospital to close?..

what are we required to find
something Questioning closing down the one with the highest fatality rate..

what does the OA, D, convey..
D) The most at-risk patients throughout the county are referred to those public hospitals that have a high concentration of trained specialists on staff...
it conveys that most at-risk patients come to place with most trained specialists..

What does the OA lack?..
Connecting two different terms through ASSUMPTION
1) The choice does not connect most at-risks with most fatality rate.
2) It may just be that the hospital with the most fatality rate is at a hospital where lesser at-risk patients come, but the inefficient staff, scanty resources, and other reasons related to the hospital have led to the highest mortality rate at that hospital.
3) Also, It may just be that the hospital recieving the most at-risks cases has the least fatality rate because of the efficient staff, resources, and other reasons related to the hospital have led to the highest mortality rate at that hospital.
4) Why are we assuming that most at-risks will lead to most fatality rate. To answer this Q, we have to limit ourselves to what has been provided to us.

mike, I would appreciate that answer be provided without any prejudice to the source. I have seen many sources simply donot reply when it comes to one of their Q, if they go wrong on an issue and thereby imparting or creating a doubt in students mind.
I think accepting that, yes, some mistake has happened can only increase the acceptability of the source.
I, too, would accept if I have gone wrong in my assessment of the Q, since its early morning and I have just had a glance on this Q and these were first thoughts.

Hi,
mikemcgarry and Magoosh.....

Hi Mike/magoosh- I completely agree with Chetan on this. C should be a straight answer. Could you please clarify?

Hi Mike/magoosh- I completely agree with Chetan on this. C should be a straight answer. Could you please clarify?

Dear mikemcgarry,

Could you please answer to chetan2u questions

Hi,
I and Mike had quite a bit of discussion on the Q. Although I am not fully satisfied as the entire thing hinges on meaning of "at-risk"..
I am attaching the link to that discussion..
https://gmatclub.com/forum/lawrence-county-has-seven-county-run-hospitals-211711.html#p1629262

I think the key-phrase to distinguish between C and D is : "fewest negative health consequences for citizens of the county."

C could be a preference of the citizens due to many reasons. It may not necessarily mean that they provide better health benefits than remaining 6.

while D states the above implicitly. Hence D should not be closed to avoid -ve health consequence.

as test takers can see, both C and D are 2 common patterns.
C is a trap. There are 2 parallel reasonings; only one of them has the main conclusion and the main premise. D concerns with the "negative consequences", so D is the answer.

Hi,

I don't agree with the OA.

I chose A because the argument's conclusion states that the county hospital with highest fatality should be closed so that private hospitals can take up the charge. However, even if any one private hospital has higher fatality rate than any county hospital then how will the public's health be in safe hands. The reason for closing is to have fewest negative health consequences. But if private hospital has higher fatality rate then the public's fatality rate is bound to increase. This just redicules the argument.

Any thoughts on this will be much appreciated!!

Regards

Posted from my mobile device

I think OA is correct. Saving money is the main reason why public hospitals are closed. Also, the plan here is one hospital MUST be closed, so A is out of scope.

gmatexam439
"The most at-risk patients are referred to those public hospitals" connects with "hospital with the highest fatality rate"

Hi Bro,

D) The most at-risk patients throughout the county are referred to those public hospitals that have a high concentration of trained specialists on staff.

Here we need to assume too much. "trained staff" is nowhere linked to public hospitals and high fatality hospitals. This includes too much outside assumption.

Definitely not a good question.

Regards

" trained specialists on staff" also connects with "most at-risk patients"; both connect with "high fatality rates"

It is too vague. It requires a lot of assumption. I personally won't think too much on this question.

Happy studying

Regards

Conc :- recommended closing the hospital with the highest fatality rate.

Keyword : - Highest fatality rate -- few Negative health Consequences -- Cost reduce.

Aim: - Weaken

Prethink:- What if Critical cases are being treated at one of the county Hospital, incurring more expenditure.

Option D Suits.