>>John, John, John!!!
>>It's arithmetically impossible that that $250K did not add cost that had no value.

Nonsense. If people need care, they need care. The kickbacks are to deliver a bigger share of the pie into the briber's hands. If you have evidence that the briber increased its prices rather than simply basking in the extra business as the article described or that the physician over-ordered: please produce it.

FWIW, I think you'll find there are lots of businesses where all work is sent to a favored provider in exchange for some value. Builders, accountants, developers and all sorts of people do it all the time and sometimes it definitely drives up cost for the consumer. The difference is that it's illegal in healthcare that is held to a higher standard at least partly because most funding is socialized rather than paid from the user's own pocket. Businessmen and physicians who don't respond appropriately to that and betray the integrity and trust relied upon for the system to work at all, deserve to be jailed.

>>He's going to jail.

As are the physicians. Who you still single out for blame.

>>He told you.
>>He can't answer that because his people are overwhelmed prosecuting the ones he's already found.

To paraphrase your own style: this silly logic can be applied to any supposition. It's not proof, it's just bias.

>The good news is that more and more physicians are taking salaried positions where they'll have no financial interest in their facility's referral decisions or billing. By your logic, that should reduce cost markedly with physician fingers out of the till and everything will be peachy.
>Wow!
>We agree!

LOL. I was being sarcastic: most evidence is that patient choice and satisfaction reduces and costs rise when physicians become clock watchers. The next step is to delegate some tasks to non-physicians, after which you may never get to see a physician but costs continue to rise. I wonder who you'll blame then, when you get what you wished for?!