At this level I mostly agree with you. In fact, a recurring discussion between my wife and I includes me asking her these same questions ("Who is forcing them

At this level I mostly agree with you. In fact, a recurring discussion between my wife and I includes me asking her these same questions ("Who is forcing them to treat these patients?") I'm generally unsatisfied with the answers. A legitimate part of it is that it's a Catholic hospital, and so feel a greater responsibility to help. But there's also an aspect of just needing to play along with the regulatory game. It seems that they've got themselves so dependent (or is that "addicted"?) to governmental aid, that they can't see a way to continue without it -- and that means full participation in all the wasteful, inefficient stuff. I believe (without quantitative proof) that at the bottom line they lose more to the bureaucratic garbage than they gain in subsidy.