My neighbor burned his yard signs this morning.

[Hoyt]

129. Having worked in the field and seen them go as far as literally praying for a flu epidemic when the

census was down, not much you can say. And, I'm talking bowing heads and praying for people getting sick.

Not to mention, buying up medical practices to funnel patients and tack on hefty facility fees; cutting out needed services that weren't profitable; duplicating services that could be coordinated within a community to save money; screwing the uninsured by going after them for everything they have, by not even writing off charges to Medicare or Medicaid levels; lobbying to prevent or impede lower cost services -- like free-standing surgical centers -- to maintain profit centers; bullying physicians and other health care professionals; cutting personnel cost to maintain profit margins and admin salaries; and a lot more.

Sorry, but that's the way it is.

I realize hospitals are important and I guess to be fair, there are a few that truly provide community service. I realize they have to be profitable to provide state-of-the-art services, but most carry it too far. But, most hospitals and administrators are out for themselves and have worked to influence legislation that keeps it that way. Yeah, they put on a good show, but sit in a leadership meeting when outsiders are not present, and listen.

Truthfully, the avarice is troughout the system.

PS, I probably should have gone for "vast majority" in my post above rather than " all."